Encountering a Venus Adept
by sierragust
Summary: After the death of his brother, Sasuke encounters four adepts and a scholar, who tell him the secrets of their world. SasuSaku/Shelix. Set during Naruto/Shippūden/GS: TLA.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This takes place after "Thank You For Everything" by KHB123 and "Piers' Wine Closet" by Sirus7009, so read those two stories if you want to read this.**

**Hello, guys! This is going to be my first lengthy crossover story called "Encountering a Venus Adept", which is a Naruto and Shippūden crossover story with Golden Sun: The Lost Age (if you haven't played it or the first GS, GS: The Lost Age is the game where you get to play as Felix and ignite the last two lighthouses). This story is going to take place before Naruto, Chōji, Shikamaru, Neji, Kiba, and Lee go after the now-rogue Sasuke Uchiha (that ultimately leads up to the events of Shippūden, in which almost everyone DIES) and right after Felix and his team (including Piers) defeated Poseidon (who hits like a truck if you're not up between Lv. 35-40) and got an audience with the King but before scaling and igniting the Jupiter Lighthouse.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and Golden Sun!**** _Naruto_ is under the property of Masashi Kishimoto while _Golden Sun_ is owned by Camelot and Nintendo!**

In the relative darkness and quietness of the open sea, among the outskirts of Konoha, the harvest moon continued to shine in the starry night sky. This time, the moon shone down on a ship with an ornate dragon shaped bow that was making its way to the Hidden Leaf from the fog-shrouded Sea of Time after its passengers, consisting of an eighteen year old brown haired young man wearing a green tunic and long breeches, with brown boots and a heavy cape hanging over one shoulder, with his hair tied in a ponytail while his bangs framed his handsome face, a seventeen year old red haired young woman with her hair tied in a high ponytail, a fourteen year old blond haired young girl with bright emerald eyes, and a blue haired man with yellow eyes that were accompanied by a seventy year old scholar, had learned the fate of the entire world from the ancient society of Lemuria.

"Hey, Felix." The blue haired man said to the brown haired young man and addressing him as Felix. "How about we stop here for the night?"

Felix shook his head while keeping his hands firmly gripped on the helm.

"No, Piers." Felix said, not taking his hands off the helm as his chocolate brown eyes locked themselves on the open sea. "Remember what King Hydros said back in Lemuria? We need to keep going towards the Jupiter Lighthouse."

"But, Felix. What if we need more supplies for our journey?" Jenna asked, looking at her brother.

"Jenna's right, Felix. We do need to help those in need." Kraden said, scratching his beard.

Felix sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he let go of the helm and walked below deck with Kraden to pack up his gear. "Fine." He said, despite the annoying voices of Jenna and Sheba and addressing the blue haired man as Piers. "But remember, we need to get to Jupiter Lighthouse like Hydros had said and hope that Isaac didn't beat us there."

Piers nodded.

"Okay." Piers said, taking the wheel and making a hard turn to starboard as he tried to drown out Jenna and Sheba's constant nagging about how old he really was.

As soon as he entered the cabin, Felix walked up to his pack and lightly shook it. "Wake up guys, we're leaving."

With the energy of a small puppy hyped up on adrenaline, his Djinn exploded out of his pack and started excitedly bouncing around the room. Felix sighed and picked up his cloak and threw it around his shoulders, and then hoisted his pack onto his back.

"Hop in, or I'm leaving without you," he said to the bouncy creatures. One by one, they climbed into his pack, still chattering excitedly.

Ever since he survived the boulder incident at Vale three years ago and sided himself with Saturos and Menardi as well as Alex, Felix had been avoiding Isaac, Garet, Ivan, and Mia so he can earn the freedom of his parents as well as Isaac's father by igniting two of the four elemental lighthouses across Weyard.

And how he betrayed his own village that lead up to Felix and Isaac becoming sworn enemies...

**X~X~X**

_The inside of Sol Sanctum was all blue stone floors and brick hallways, with torches glowing every few feet. The group rushed through the corridors into another room, the walls lined with statues of priests holding swords. The floors had changed to white-and-violet marble, and there was one statue pushed to the side, revealing a doorway._

_"Just as I'd hoped!" Saturos whispered. "The old man took my counsel!"_

_Continuing through the door, they leapt over a small pool and went through another door. Winding pathways of marble led them to a room plunged in faded darkness, a small light glowing on the wall while a portrait of the moon radiated pale light._

_Menardi's eyes lit up. "After all this time," she whispered. "They must have disabled the trap, Saturos! They've already activated the portal!"_

_"Shh," Saturos commanded. "Listen."_

_Faint voices emerged from the light on the wall. "Here it is, Kraden! We've got the second Elemental Star!" That was unmistakably Garet._

_"Good, good!" the voice of an elderly man replied. "Now go fetch the others!"_

_"We must go," Saturos said. "Felix, you remain here for a bit. You'll know when to come in if we need you."_

_"But where is Alex?" Menardi said._

_"Who cares? Let's just go," Saturos replied. "We'll see you when we return, Felix. We'll call you if we need you." He and Menardi touched the light and vanished._

_Felix continued to listen to the events occurring on the other end of the portal._

_Jenna gasped and cried, "What are you doing here?"_

_"Quiet, girl, we don't want your companions to know you're here."_

_"I-I can't b-b-believe you f-followed us," Kraden stuttered._

_"Believe it," Menardi said._

_Garet's voice again. "We've got the Jupiter Star now, Kraden!" Silence followed, and then there was a "Kraden!" from Garet, and a "Jenna!" from Isaac._

_"It looks like they've spotted us," Saturos grumbled._

_"And here I thought we'd be safe until they'd gotten the Elemental Stars," Menardi sighed._

_"What do you mean to do with the Elemental Stars?" Kraden demanded, though his voice shook. "Are you trying to steal them!"_

_"Master Kraden, are you calling us thieves?" Saturos asked, sounding taken aback._

_"As I recall, you stole our information on how to get in here," Menardi added._

_Jenna was next. "What will you do with us once you've gotten the Elemental Stars?"_

_"I'm sure they'll do us in once they no longer need us!" Kraden exclaimed._

_Felix touched the light, and almost instantly found himself drifting down onto a blue crystal pillar which stood in a waveless sea. Pale lights drifted through the dark air, and the crystal was smooth but firm under his feet. "No," he said firmly. "You shall not be hurt." Then, turning to Saturos and Menardi, "That was our agreement, was it not?"_

_"They'll be safe," Menardi said. "We just need the Elemental Stars in exchange for their safety."_

_Felix winced but nodded, and Saturos called, "Will you accept our terms?" This was directed to Isaac and Garet, who stood across the room, near a statue of a goddess._

_Isaac hesitantly nodded, and Kraden broke in, "No, Isaac! You must not give them the Stars!" Turning to his captors, he demanded, "We have no guarantee that we'll be safe once you have the Stars! How do you expect us to trust you without proof that you will keep your promise?"_

_Saturos and Menardi exchanged glances before Menardi spoke. "A guarantee, is it? I have only one." Turning to Felix, she said, "It seems that you will need to remove your mask."_

_It felt like cold water was being poured into his empty body. His soul seemed to freeze. "But . . . that means . . ."_

_"There is no other way," Saturos said, shaking his head slowly. "You must be our guarantee. They demanded one, after all. And under the circumstances, we have no choice. Felix," he sighed, "remove your mask."_

_Jenna's eyes became very wide. "F-Felix?" she said, her voice just above a whisper. "This can't be-he can't be-"_

_"Wasn't Felix the name of your brother?" Kraden asked. "That mischievous little lad who was my student before the accident?"_

_"Yes, but three years ago . . . the storm . . . my brother, he . . ." Jenna stammered. Her eyes were very large, and she was staring at Felix as she trembled with disbelief. "It has to be a lie," she whispered. "It has to be."_

_"I'll do it," Felix said. She sounded so torn; even if he didn't reveal himself, she would never be the same. "I'll . . . remove my mask."_

_Yes, he decided. It was finally time for the ghost to return to life, no matter how much it wanted to remain dead._

_Sometimes, it was necessary for the dead to rise from the grave, if only to walk the world once more._

_If only to give hope to those who had always been alive._

_He turned around and untied his mask, tying it to his belt before turning back to face everyone. Jenna let out a shriek, bringing her hands to her face._

_"I-It's not possible," she whispered, her voice shaking worse than an earthquake._

_"Is he . . . ?" Kraden asked. Jenna looked down._

_"I'm sorry I caused you much grief, Jenna." Felix said, looking down at the crystallized floor. "It was a miracle I survived that day."_

_"We are the ones who saved him." Saturos interjected._

_"We saw him floating unconscious in the river, as we passed." Said Menardi, gesturing to him._

_"...I've been with them ever since." Said Felix. "I've experienced... A lot.."_

_"But why?" Cried Jenna. "Why would you leave me all alone?!" She was crying openly, and he stepped toward her to try and hug her, but Saturos and Menardi grabbed his arm, and he stopped. "Jenna..."_

_"My own brother. I thought you were dead!" Jenna sobbed, her voice strangled with so such pain as she buried her face in her brother's shoulder. Felix was surprised at this, but embraced her back, feeling her hot tears wetting his shirt._

_Saturos groaned in annoyance. "Save this teary reunion for later."_

_"That's right." Said Menardi, letting go of Felix. "The Elemental Stars come first."_

_"Is this acceptable?" Said Saturos, facing Isaac and Garet again. "Felix would never allow us to harm you... Or his sister."_

_"Felix will be our guarantee." Menardi continued. "Now, give us the Elemental Stars!"_

_Isaac nodded, and hopped across the tall columns to hand over the Stars. He was about halfway there, when the familiar Mercury Adept, Alex, materialized out of thin air and stopped him._

_"Will you permit me to relieve you of those Elemental Stars?" Said Alex._

_"Oh, Alex... You're late." Grunted Saturos. "Alex is another one of our companions. Hand the stones to him."_

_Isaac handed over the Elemental Stars, and Alex frowned. "I'm afraid I must apologize in advance... For you will be bringing us the remaining Elemental Star, as well."_

_He took the three Stars, and began to teleport away._

_"Wait a second!" Yelled Garet. "You want us to grab the other one for you too?"_

_Alex smiled. "Oh, did you not understand me?"_

_Garet raised his small sword at Alex, threateningly. "You said you'd set Jenna free once we gave you the Elemental Stars! You promised!"_

_Saturos laughed. "No, my friend. We want you to bring us all the Elemental Stars!"_

_Garet turned his back and looked at Isaac, shaking his head. Menardi folded her arms and looked annoyed. "Stop grumbling and bring us the last Star!" She yelled, and Garet turned back to face them._

_"Fine!" Said Isaac._

_"Thank you for your cooperation." Said Alex. "We'll be waiting for the rest."_

_Isaac and Garet jumped across the rest of the columns, and walked past Felix and the others on their way to the final Star. Felix turned away as they passed. They quickly hopped over a few more gaps, and reached the final Statue, from which they took a small, red orb, the Mars Star. Moments later, the entire chamber shook and roared, and nearly knocked Felix off his feet._

_"What's the matter, what happened?" Yelled Menardi over the rumbling cavern._

_"No... Not again..." Grumbled Saturos._

_"Without the energy of the Elemental Stars, the chamber is collapsing." Said Alex, calmly._

_"Is this the 'terrible retribution' the villagers spoke of?" Said Kraden. "No... This must be more of Alchemy's power!"_

_The rumbling stopped after a few moments, and the chamber stopped shaking._

_"Phew... It's over." Breathed Menardi. "But what was it?"_

_"What is that?" Cried Jenna, and Saturos drew his sword, which prompted Felix to do the same._

_"No..." Said Saturos, as what look like a huge boulder loomed into view overhead. However, it seemed to be floating in mid air, as if being held there by Psynergy._

_"Could that be... The Wise One?" Said Kraden, aghast._

_"Such power... Incredible..." Said Alex, with a similar expression on his face._

_Suddenly, the stone itself seemed to shift, and a single, gigantic eye appeared in the middle of the stone's face, and scanned each and every one of them as it floated closer to Isaac and Garet._

_"It must be the guardian of the Elemental Stars!" Yelled Saturos, and Felix readied his sword to fight, though he wasn't sure what he could do against such a seemingly powerful opponent..._

_"This doesn't look good..." Said Felix. "Maybe we should just escape while we can."_

_Menardi shook her head. "But we need the Mars Star! We can't leave it behind."_

_Alex shook his head as well. "I agree with Felix; we're no match for the guardian."_

_"The Mars Star will have to wait for another day..." Said Saturos._

_"Hey! What about Isaac and Garet!" Said Jenna. "You can't just leave them here!"_

_Saturos shook his head at her. "Forget about them. They won't make it out, alive."_

_"But Saturos..." Menardi said, looked rather concerned. "There's still a chance they might survive."_

_"Anythings possible..." He said. "So what do you suggest we do?"_

_"We take this... Jenna... With us. If they survive, they will want her back." Said Alex, smirking. "And... If they want her back, they will bring us the Star..." He paused. "Regardless.. Kraden must come with us. He is connected to all of this."_

_Felix gritted his teeth. He didn't trust Alex to begin with, and he thought about fulfilling his promise to punch the man in the gut right then and there, but restrained himself._

_"Alex... Are you breaking our promise?" He said._

_"Conditions have changed since we made that promise." He said dismissively, which only made Felix more angry at him._

_"Jenna is not any part of this! I won't let you hurt her!"_

_"Do what you will with me, just let Jenna go." Kraden added._

_Saturos chuckled. "Your bravery speaks well of you, old man, but you cannot help Jenna now."_

_"If we leave Jenna, she will surely die... Is that what you want, Felix?" Said Menardi. He hadn't thought of it that way; taking Jenna against her will was something Felix simply could not do, but leaving her to die was simply out of the question..._

_"Perhaps we ought to continue this elsewhere, Felix." Alex interrupted._

_"Alright..." He agreed._

_"Please, can we go now?" Said Alex again, motioning towards the glowing door._

_Felix nodded. "Yeah... Let's get out of here."_

_"Let's make haste!" Menardi hissed as she shoved Jenna towards the entrance of the sanctum, forcing Felix to give Menardi a death glare._

_"Don't lay a damned finger on my sister, you bastard!" Felix yelled, looking into the older woman's red eyes._

_Menardi turned to face him. "Who do you think you're talking to?! You owe us your life!" She snapped, glaring back at him._

_"Menardi!" Saturos snarled, glaring at his partner._

_Felix felt his heart stop unexpectedly, realizing he was talking to his saviors from Prox._

_Saturos was the first through the portal, followed by Kraden, then Menardi. Jenna took one last look at the Inner Sanctum._

_"Isaac! Garet!" she called. "Don't die!"_

_Felix escorted her through the portal, and a moment later, Alex followed. Felix cast a quick Retreat, and the party scurried down the mountain and out of Vale. Saturos and Menardi dragged Kraden, while Felix carried Jenna and Alex followed closely behind._

_Felix hoped Isaac and Garet had survived, but he had other worries now. Like Jenna._

_Storms brewed over Vale as the six ran, and they heard the eruption begin as they fled into the woods._

**X~X~X**

Felix gripped the mythril bag that held the Jupiter Star tightly in his hand. Ever since he, Saturos, Menardi, and Alex knocked Sheba out and whisked her away from Lalivero after stealing the Elemental Stars from Sol Sanctum located at the heart of Mt. Aleph as well as him severing the ties that he had with the village of Vale, even going as far as to dive off the aerie of the collapsing Venus Lighthouse to save her and ending up being washed at the continent of Indra due to a tidal wave caused by Poseidon after activating the Venus Lighthouse and the Mercury Lighthouse despite Isaac's own ambition to prevent the power of Alchemy from being unleashed by The Wise One, he had been the only one looking out for her.

Felix knew that Isaac still had the last Star needed necessary to ignite the beacon of the Mars Lighthouse.

Piers docked his Lemurian Ship near the shorelines as he, Felix, Jenna, Sheba and Kraden disembarked after he dropped anchor at the beach.

"I suggest that we should try to at least get to the village before daybreak." Piers said, examining the ground before him as he flexed his muscles.

Sheba looked at Piers, shocked that there was a village in the forest.

"There's a village here?" Sheba asked, looking at the Lemurian before Kraden cleared his throat.

"Indeed." Kraden nodded before turning towards Felix. "Shall we get going, Felix?"

Felix nodded as he felt a small smile crossing his beautiful, kissable lips.

"I guess now's as good of a time as any." Felix said, buckling his sword belt that had the Cloud Brand, a gift from the people of Izumo, on as he, Jenna, Sheba, Piers, and Kraden headed off in the direction of Konohakagure.

Ever since he, Jenna, and Sheba had conquered the Great Gabomba Statue in order to retrieve Piers's black crystal from the Witch Doctor Akafubu in Kibombo after throwing Briggs into jail in Alhafra before they got in trouble with its mayor right after they fixed the sailing ship and witnessed the pirate escape onboard said ship with his wife and his infant son, as well as preventing Kushinada from being sacrificed to the Serpent of Gaia Rock before they, along with Susa, dealt with the Dragonsbane-drunk dragon, Felix couldn't shake off the feeling of someone… or something watching their every move like when they fought off the bandits that Isaac fought back in Vault.

"Something the matter, Felix?" Kraden asked the brown haired Venus Adept, snapping Felix's thoughts back to the present as the Alchemy sage scratched his beard.

Felix shook his head.

"Nothing, Kraden." Felix said to the bespectacled Alchemist as he ran up to catch up with the others. He threw his pony-tailed hair back as he ran up to his team, his greenish-blue reversible cape banging from his side as he ran.

**X~X~X**

As they neared the gates of Konoha despite having explicitly huge blisters on their feet, Felix soon saw a black haired thirteen year old young boy wearing a dark blue high collared shirt with his hands in the pockets of his white pants that he wore, along with a purple backpack strapped on his back. He had his eyes closed as he rudely shoved his left shoulder into Felix's right arm, forcing Felix to hit the cobblestone pathway beneath him.

"Hey!" Felix exclaimed as he got up and rubbed the spot on his left arm where the black haired boy shoved his shoulder into. "Rude greeting _that_ was."

"Are you all right, Felix?" Piers asked as soon as Felix caught up with them.

"Aside from that black haired kid shoving his shoulder into me, I'm okay." Felix said as he entered the village, but not before pulling his sleeve up and seeing that his arm was now bleeding. He quickly placed a few herbs on the wound after Sheba cleaned it.

"Are you sure, Felix?" Jenna asked, bright ruby eyes looking up at her brother.

Felix said nothing as he entered the village, but not before glaring at the black-haired boy that continued to walk out until he was out of sight.

**X~X~X**

As soon as he was successfully out of the village that was once his home, the black-haired boy known as Sasuke Uchiha walked up to four people that he had fought just before leaving the village behind.

"We apologize for the delay... Sasuke." Sakon said, closing his eyes as Sasuke looked at the Sound Four that Orochimaru had hired.

"It's time to leave this place behind..." Sasuke said, looking at the Leaf village one more time before he and the Sound Four left in the night.


	2. Chapter 2

When Felix, Jenna, Sheba, Piers, and Kraden arrived at Konoha, the sun was risen over the hills as they walked through the gate. Upon arriving, Felix noticed a young girl with shoulder length pink hair was sleeping on the stone bench without a blanket to cover herself. Removing his cape and putting it on the unconscious girl, Felix then picked her up.

"Sasuke." She moaned in her sleep after Felix and his team arrived at her house.

"Thank you for returning my daughter to me. My sweet Sakura must be exhausted after today." Her mother said, looking at the four adepts.

Nodding, Felix headed back to Sakura's room after he unhooked his sword, sat down in a chair, and allowed sleep to slowly take its toll.

* * *

Early morning light was seeping through the windows when Sakura rolled over in bed and discovered that she was in her house. Rising up from her bed, Sakura found a brown haired young man sleeping in a chair just a few feet away from her.

She just had the most weirdest dream. In it, she and Sasuke were married and they had a beautiful young girl with glasses.

However, her thoughts were cut short when the brown haired young man squinted his eyes before opening them to reveal a pair of beautiful brown eyes.

"You're awake." He said, breaking the silence between them.


	3. Chapter 3

"How is she?" Sheba asked as Felix gently closed the door to Sakura's bedroom.

"She's still traumatized at how this... Sasuke kid left the village." Felix said, taking his hand off the doorknob and shaking his head.

Sheba stepped over beside the bed and examined Sakura. Her cheeks were red from crying and she had tear-stains on her face.

"Poor thing..." Sheba said, looking at Sakura's tear-stained face.

_'Sasuke... Why did you have to leave?'_ Sakura thought when Sheba used her Mind Read Psynergy on her.

**X~X~X**

Felix didn't sleep that night.

It's not that he wasn't tired, he had been exhausted. But he couldn't rest knowing that he was out there somewhere. He had on-and-off bouts of insomnia, usually occurring on nights when he had a lot on his mind. And between finding Sakura's unconscious body lying on a stone bench, getting himself washed and stranded on the continent of Indra after Alex had left them to die, and Sakura moaning out someone named Sasuke, he certainly had a lot to think about.

And that's what he was doing. He lay across the cheap, lumpy inn bed, not even having bothered to change. Even as sunlight slowly crept through the curtains across the room, and he heard feet shuffling in the hallway on the other side. He just lay there, thinking.

He was a caring person, he would admit that. He'd put the quest on the back-burner countless times to help out strangers they'd encountered.

And it made him weak. Instead of fetching mushrooms, saving penguins, and finding bread for little boys, he should have spent more time focusing on getting to Jupiter Lighthouse.

**X~X~X**

The next day, Felix found himself, Jenna, Sheba, and Piers standing at the main gate with Sakura as she talked to a spiky blonde haired young man named Naruto, begging him to bring Sasuke back.

"Don't you worry about a thing, Sakura." Naruto said, giving Sakura a "thumbs-up" sign.

"You got guts, kid." Felix said, watching as Naruto, Kiba, Neji, Shikamaru, and Chōji left the village in pursuit of Sasuke.

"I hope they'll bring Sasuke back." Sakura said sadly.

"I'm sure they will." Felix said before hearing his stomach groaning in hunger. "Is there any place where we can sit down and eat?"

"Yes, there is." Sakura said, smiling as she lead the four to Ichiraku.

The smell of piping hot ramen suddenly hit Felix's nose like a train as they entered.

"It smells awfully good in here." Felix said as he sat down on one of the stools.

"I know." Sakura said, sitting down next to the Venus Adept. "Naruto comes here a lot after his missions, so it's kind of like an addiction."

"Naruto sounds almost like Garet in a way." Jenna said as she saw her brother nod in agreement.

"Who's Garet?" Sakura asked, taking a sip of her tea. "A friend of yours?"

Felix nodded. "He was our friend back in the village we came from. By the way, who's this Sasuke you mentioned last night?"

Sakura dug in her pouch and pulled out a small picture frame. Handing it over to Felix, who took it and looked at it, she told them that the black haired boy with the emotionless black eyes was Sasuke. The other two that were standing next to him, Felix noticed, were instantly recognizable as Sakura and Naruto. He didn't know who the silver haired man at the top of the picture was, but he knew that he was important.

Soon after their steaming bowls of ramen came to them, Felix took his gloves off with his teeth and instantly dug into his noodles while telling Sakura about Isaac and about the friendly rivalry between the two that ultimately lead up to them being mortal enemies when they got close to igniting the Venus Lighthouse back when Saturos and Menardi were still alive.

"Interesting. What does Isaac look like?" Sakura asked, looking at Felix as she noticed Jenna was blushing like crazy when she said Isaac's name. Felix looked down and chuckled as he remembered Sheba teasing Jenna about Isaac after they met Menardi's bloodlust younger sister.

Felix took the opportunity to swallow a mouthful of noodles and vegetables before he spoke. "Well, he's about the same age as my sister. He has blonde hair and blue eyes, and he's on his own journey to stop me."

Sakura looked up from her bowl. "What for?"

Setting his bowl down on the counter after draining the noodles, Felix closed his eyes and sighed.

"I don't want to talk about it." Felix said, now eating his second bowl.

"I see. From what your scholar friend told Lady Tsunade, you have lit two out of four beacons so far." Sakura said, remembering what Kraden told her.

His chopsticks almost broke in half as Felix clenched a fist, but he kept his voice level as he remembered the brawl with Briggs back in Alhafra just before Piers joined them on Indra and right before they got an audience with King Hydros of Lemuria.

"Yeah. It was rough, but we still managed to ignite both beacons." He said, shaking off what Agatio and Karst threatened to do if they didn't light the Jupiter Lighthouse after they caught up to the pirate, his wife and his son in Champa.

"I guess that must've been hard for you to do." Sakura said, drinking her tea as they continued talking.

Their discussion had changed from Isaac to finding out how old Piers was, to which the Lemurian immediately left after finishing his ramen when his face was practically burning up due to annoyance and embarrassment.

"So, Sasuke told you before he left that you were "still annoying"?" Jenna asked, looking at Sakura's tear-stained face.

"Yes..." Sakura said sadly as Jenna clasped a hand on her shoulder.

"My brother called me annoying once, and I whacked him upside the head with my staff." Jenna said, trying to get Sakura into high spirits again.

"When was this?" Sakura asked, looking at Jenna as Felix cleared his throat.

"After we ignited the Venus Lighthouse." Felix said after devouring his noodles and swallowing the broth, rubbing his head from when Jenna whacked him with her staff.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: You're probably going to see Felix initiate the infamous forehead tap that was used by Sasuke at the end of Chapter 699, so please don't kill me SS fans. Also, I'm sorry for the long update on this story. Please forgive me!**

**X~X~X**

From deep within the hideout, Sai painted a few ink mice and whispered a few words before they scattered across the hallways until one of them pinpointed the room where Sasuke was.

Opening the door a little, Sai peered in to see that Sasuke was still sleeping. Quietly opening a scroll while trying not to wake the Uchiha up, Sai painted three snakes and stood back while putting two fingers up near his lips.

"Ninja Art: Super Beast Scroll."

The ink snakes lifted themselves off the scroll and started slithering towards Sasuke, who was still sleeping.

Until Sasuke woke up.

"Who's there?" Sasuke asked, clearly annoyed that the young man from before woke him up.

"So, you do know I'm here. Well, regardless. I still have the advantage." Sai said, still standing outside the door.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked, still not getting up from where he was.

Putting his hand on the door, Sai opened it a bit further, the door creaking as he did. "Well, if you meet Lord Danzō, his objective is to bury you. But me, I have come here to take you back to the Leaf."

Sasuke didn't say anything as Sai continued speaking to him, Sai putting on a fake smile as he spoke. "When I first started out, I did it with the sole intention of ending your life. You share something with him; a bond of friendship that Naruto is desperately holding onto. And I'm here to protect it!"

Sasuke listened for a while before he felt rage boiling up inside him at the word that Sai had said.

"A bond?" Sasuke repeated, his voice rising as the black ink snakes got closer to him.

Sai's eyes narrowed.

"Is that really your excuse for waking me up?" Sasuke asked in a calm and deadly tone.

Sai felt his eyes widen as he felt the piercing gaze of the Uchiha's Sharingan, but kept his distance as he again put his two fingers near his lips and the snakes coiled around Sasuke's body, which resulted in a huge explosion that shook the entire hideout, almost knocking Felix off his feet.

"I hope that wasn't Sai just now." Felix said as he caught his balance.

Piers looked over at Yamato.

"Does this mean he finally found Sasuke?" Piers asked, looking at the new captain.

"I'm not sure." Yamato said, shaking his head. "But we must hurry."

**X~X~X**

Outside the hideout, Kabuto, having heard the explosion, craned his head a bit to get a better view of the smoke rising from a huge crater while Felix's sand clone watched him.

_'Looks like Sasuke's awake.'_ He thought, smirking. _'He's always so grumpy when he wakes up.'_

Sai, who was unaffected by the explosion, sat on his hands and knees while gasping for breath.

_'He broke my Jutsu...'_ Sai thought, looking up at the huge crater that was Sasuke's room. '_...with sheer power.'_

**X~X~X**

As Yamato, Piers, Naruto and Felix ran down the long hallway, Sakura took one last look at Sai's picture book before putting it in her pouch and joining her companions.

"Hey, Felix." Naruto said as they were running through the hallways. "Can you use your chakra to pinpoint Sai's location?"

"Venus Psynergy," Piers corrected him.

Felix turned to the blond. "Yes, but I need some space to do so."

Kneeling onto the decorative floor with the four people behind him, Felix closed his eyes and placed his hand on the ground as his Venus Psynergy surged through the ground beneath the hideout.

After finding his location, Felix's eyes shot open.

"He's up ahead." Felix said, getting up and dusting his pants off. "But I sensed... someone else there as well."

"You don't mean..." Sakura said worriedly.

Felix turned to her and nodded.

"We'll have to be especially careful from here on out." Felix said before running off.

It didn't take long for them to finally reach the hallway where Yamato, Naruto, Sakura, Felix and Piers saw Sai looking up at something despite the broken debris around him.

"Sakura, wait!" Felix exclaimed as he tried to stop her.

Feeling her legs moving, Sakura felt her heart pounding as she ran towards the center of the crater that was made, and grabbed Sai by his shirt.

"ALRIGHT, ENOUGH!" shouted the pink-haired kunoichi, grabbing a handful of the taller, black-haired ANBU's shirt. "What are you really up to? How many times do you have to betray us before you-"

"Sakura..." A vaguely familiar voice said.

Sakura stopped abruptly. Time seemed to stand still as she slowly turned her head upward, her rosy hair touseling in the breeze. Her wide eyes growing impossibly wider with shock, awe, recognition...and then dread when she found him in the sunlight. Her petite, black-gloved hand slackened from her companion's collar.

Sasuke stared back down at her on the cliff of the crater above them, the breeze brushing his clothes and hair. He found himself drawn by the sight of her. She looked the same...and not. She matured. She was stronger. Fiercer. She was...she looked...

"It's you...Sas...uke," she said softly. The sweet sound of her voice saying his name...

What the hell was she doing here? She shouldn't be here. Ever. Why was she here?!

His moment of surprise behind his emotionless façade was quickly replaced with annoyance and slight amusement at her reaction. Her emerald eyes lit with many emotions, still readable as ever.

_'So... it really is her. Sakura...she still hasn't changed. Hn. Annoying.'_

Moments later, another stronger chakra-a wild swirl of flaming energy-came stumbling out of the tunnel in a dash of yellow and orange. Naruto.

Hidden emotions reacted in his chest...before immediately suppressed to indifference as he faced his old teammates for the first time in two years.

The sight of his replacement in Team 7 sent a jolt of resentment through him, further pulling him away from his old friends and allowing his decision to be easier voiced without mercy.

Sasuke was going to get through their heads, especially Naruto's, that he had no intention of going back with them. That he already decided to cut all bonds with them. That he only had one type of bond: the bonds of hatred between him and Itachi.

His hand gripped the hilt of his katana tightly. They were enemies now. If they should try to stop him, he will attack them. Might even be forced to kill them if it came to it. Sasuke could no longer look at Sakura's horrified face.

Felix narrowed his eyes after both Sakura and Naruto ran towards the huge crater.

"Wait here with Yamato, Piers." Felix said, looking at his best friend after Naruto bolted off. "I'm going to see what's going on."

Piers nodded and joined Yamato. As fast as he could move, Felix raced out towards the crater, alerting Sasuke of his presence as he said nothing.

When Felix came to a stop, he looked at his companions with a solemn look on his face.

"What is it?" Felix asked.

Sakura, Naruto, and Sai said nothing as they continued to look up at the top of the crater until Felix heard a cold voice from the top of said crater.

"I don't recall you being in this pathetic team." The cold, calculating voice said to Felix.

Felix tensed and slowly turned around to the top of the crater, immediately getting himself blinded by the sunlight as he looked up.

Felix shaded his eyes and saw a black silhouette of the one who said the cold words; A lone raven-haired teenager, no younger than fifteen, that was staring down at them with a pair of unreadable and expressionless onyx eyes. Felix's eyes grew dark as he realized that the raven-haired teenager was Sasuke Uchiha, but said nothing as he didn't take his eyes off the fifteen-year old young man.

Looking at his samurai attire, Felix's heart skipped a beat when he realized it was that same young boy from two years ago, and he knew that Sasuke was still a force to be reckoned with. Felix had never seen Sasuke in proper combat before, so he had no idea what to expect.

Instead of the dark blue shirt that he used to wear in the picture, Sasuke now wore a long sleeved white haori that was open at the center, exposing half of his bare chest. Despite having the same hairstyle as in the picture, Sasuke now wore long, black pants that ended just below his feet. A large piece of purple cloth was wrapped around his body, just above his stomach and ended below his knees, that was kept there by a purple shimenawa that, Felix noticed right away, a sword scabbard was hooked. The entire sword looked almost like a katana due to its look and the size of the scabbard.

Surprise struck Felix's expression like a brick to the face as he realized how much Sasuke had grown, but he quickly regained his demeanor as his finger unconsciously brushed against the hilt of his sword. According to what Sakura told him, Sasuke was the last survivor of the infamous Uchiha Clan that had gotten slaughtered a long time ago by none other than Sasuke's elder brother that ultimately lead up to the young Uchiha to choose revenge over returning to the village that he was born in, Itachi Uchiha.

Felix smirked for a second and then mirrored the same pose that the raven-haired teen had.

"If I had to guess…" Felix replied. "I would say you're Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke stood as still as a statue, observing the brown-haired young man that addressed him by his name.

"You know me well." Sasuke replied in a seemingly bored tone as he looked down at Felix. "But I don't know who you are."

Felix narrowed his eyes. "But I remember seeing you leave the village two years ago."

"Felix…" Sakura said, looking at Felix. "When was this?"

"Before we found you on that bench." Felix said, not taking his eyes from Sasuke.

The raven haired teenager narrowed his unreadable eyes down at Felix before looking at Sakura and Naruto.

"I assume that Kakashi must be here too...?" Sasuke asked in a tired and bored tone.

"Unfortunately, Kakashi isn't here right now." Yamato said as he and Piers stepped up beside Felix. "I'm here to lead the new Team Kakashi."

"Team Kakashi..." Sasuke said quietly, his eyes scanning his former comrades.

Looking out of the corner of his eye, Felix instantly saw Sai draw out his short sword.

"I knew it!" Sakura exclaimed. "Don't do this, Sai."

Upon hearing the name, Sasuke looked down at them.

"That guy is my replacement?" Sasuke asked in a bored tone. "I thought this team already had a weakling." He added, addressing to Sakura.

"If I were you, I would just keep my mouth shut." Felix growled, not taking his eyes off of Sasuke. "I know that you and the blond had a bond that YOU broke, yet this guy insisted that he wants to protect it." He added, pointing towards Sai.

"The bond I have with my brother... Is the bond of hatred." Sasuke said.

Felix blinked. "Wait, what? You can't be serious."

"I wasn't talking to you." Sasuke said, glaring down at Felix.

Hearing this, Felix resisted the urge to run up and punch him in the face. Despite that, he instantly remembered back when he was fifteen years old and ended up getting sick with phenomena due to his stupid actions...

**X~X~X**

_Saturos saw Felix collapse, and almost immediately he dropped his hands from the wheel. Just in time, he remembered that they were still moving, toward land, no less, and grabbed it again. He began turning the ship back around to face the open sea._

_"Menardi!" he yelled. "Stop this ship at once!"_

_She walked back out of the adults' cabin, wiping her hands on her skirt. "But it takes more Psynergy to stop it than it does to keep it going," she said._

_"Don't worry about that! We can take some time to recover. Right now, you need to stop so that we can see to that boy!" Saturos pointed with one hand, keeping the other on the wheel._

_Menardi now saw Felix. Her hands flew upward to cover her mouth. "By the Gods, what did he do?" She raised her arms. "Stop!" she yelled, and white fire flew from her hands. The ship slowed to a stop, and Saturos at once galloped to the mast and scrambled up like some sort of monkey. As we went, he reached out and pulled on the ropes that held the sail open. Reaching the crow's nest, he tied them back._

_"I don't know why this ship even has sails when it runs on pure Psynergetic power," Saturos muttered as he climbed back down._

_"Saturos! Hold him!" Menardi said, holding Felix out toward her traveling companion. "I have to perform Wish!"_

_Saturos scowled as he took Felix into his arms. "But Wish will heal all three of us, and neither you nor I need healing," he said._

_"It's the only healing power I have," Menardi said. "Now hold still." She held out her hands, which began to glow. "Wish!" The shimmering white energy flew into the air like water from a fountain and sprinkled over the three. Saturos looked down at Felix, who began to cough._

_"I think he inhaled some water," Saturos said. Menardi, after Wish had subsided, took Felix from the blue-skinned man and looked at him. The boy was shivering; his skin was very pale and his teeth were chattering._

_"I believe he's been overexposed to the cold water and the cold northern air," Menardi said. "He's catching hypothermia very quickly. We have to get him warm. Strip off his clothing," she instructed, shoving Felix back into Saturos' arms. "Then, wrap him in at least three blankets-warm ones-and lay him near the fire. That will help him warm up. After he's nice and toasty, lay him in bed."_

_Saturos watched Menardi as she began to walk off to their cabin. "Wait! Why don't you strip him?" Saturos demanded._

_"Are you kidding, Saturos? He's a fifteen-year-old boy! He needs his privacy! I'm a woman, I can't go about stripping children!" Menardi continued walking._

_Saturos sighed. "You sure didn't have any reservations about stripping him when we were back in Vale!" he called after her._

_"Quit whining and just do it, Saturos!"_

_Saturos wrinkled his nose, then took the boy into the galley. He left for a minute, then came back with four thick woolen blankets. After stripping Felix of his soaked clothes, he wrapped the boy in the blankets and lit the stone fireplace with one well-aimed Flare. For nearly an hour he sat there, watching Felix. The boy's skin was regaining its tone, but his coughing had only gotten worse. Saturos decided that enough was enough and stood up with Felix in his arms just as Menardi walked in._

_"So?" Menardi asked. "How is he?"_

_"I think he's as warmed-up as he's going to get," Saturos replied. "But his coughing is getting worse by the minute."_

_"Let me see." Menardi took the boy from Saturos, looked at his sweaty face, and nodded. "Yes, he's by far warm enough. I think we've beaten the hypothermia, but something else has set in. Let's see, shall we?" She handed Felix to Saturos and held out her hands again._

_"Wait, Menardi, don't! You'll only-"_

_"Wish!" The white fountain bubbled over them, and Felix's coughing lightened, but only slightly._

_"-exhaust your Psynergy supply," Saturos finished._

_Menardi grinned at him. "I supposed we're dead on the water for a while, then, aren't we?" She took back Felix. "I'm going to take him and put him in bed. When he wakes up, I'll treat him further." She walked out of the galley and back in to the Valeans' cabin._

_It wasn't until hours later, after the sun had set, that Felix began to stir._

_"You're an idiot!" he heard Saturos yelling. "A complete and total dolt!"_

_Felix opened his eyes and immediately wished he hadn't. The lanterns blinded him, and the whole cabin swam as if underwater. Colors were amiss; Menardi, who was putting something cold on his forehead, looked bright orange as opposed to her normal reddish tone, and Saturos was tinted a bit purple. Felix groaned and closed his eyes again. His hearing wasn't much better. Saturos' yelling echoed in his mind, giving him a horrible headache._

_"You've caught pneumonia from swimming in the sea," Menardi explained to him, speaking very softly. "And I'm all out of Psynergy for now, so we're dead on the water. Open your mouth."_

_Felix did so, and Menardi poured a hot, sticky substance down the boy's throat. Felix started to gag, but Menardi put one slender finger on his throat and he swallowed. She then made him swallow two rather large pills that he almost choked on._

_Saturos was standing in the doorway of the cabin. "You could have died, boy, and then where would we be?" he yelled._

_"Quit yelling at the boy, he's sick," Menardi said. "Yelling isn't going to help him recover any faster."_

_"Well, yelling sure isn't going to make him worse, is it?" Saturos replied. He walked further into the cabin and leaned over Felix, his red eyes boring into the brown-haired boy. "You fool!" he yelled right into Felix's face. Felix curled into a fetal position and covered his ears, letting out a groan. "Why sacrifice your life for a fool like that man Kyle? He wanted to swim to shore! You should have let him die trying!" His rough-skinned hand lashed down onto Felix's cheek, leaving a red mark. When Felix jerked at the pain, Saturos slapped his other cheek. "Don't do that again!" he screamed at Felix. "Unless you want to die!"_

_Felix looked up, grinning as best he could with his reddened and swelling cheeks. "I'm not going to die. You need me to get into the Lighthouse, remember?" Another hard slap was his answer. Felix's chocolate eyes began to tear._

_"I have better things to do than waste my time with a smart-mouthed Venus Adept who can't even perform Cure Well!" Saturos yelled once more. He turned around. "Menardi, hurry up and heal this crybaby." With a swish of his cape, Saturos walked out of the cabin._

_"I have a piece of advice for you," Menardi said, rubbing a damp cloth over Felix's swelling cheeks. "Don't make Saturos mad. He'll kill you if you give him reason enough. He's already upset enough that I made him tend to you after you collapsed."_

_Felix grinned again. "He won't kill me," he said in a slightly singsong tone. "He needs me!"_

_"Do you think you're the only Venus Adept in the world, boy? He's more than willing to replace you. Here. Swallow this." Menardi pressed a cup to Felix's lips. He swallowed, but only narrowly avoided gagging._

_"That stuff's awful!" he groaned. "What on Weyard is that?"_

_Menardi put a bucket in front of him. Felix glanced at her, then looked at the bucket. Suddenly, his face paled and he lurched forward, emptying the contents of his stomach into the container._

_"That 'stuff' is something called ipecac," Menardi said, watching Felix vomit. "It'll help you get better quicker by purging any infection from your stomach."_

_Felix groaned and looked up for a moment. "And what in Venus' name does my stomach have to do with pneumonia?"_

_Menardi gave him a grin. "I just want to make sure you don't get any sicker. The weather in Prox is not going to do much for your well-being if you're already sick when we get there. You'll need to recover while we're still on the ship." She looked at the bucket and wrinkled her nose. "So much for those pills. Guess I'll have to give you some more." She walked over to the cupboard._

_Felix took another minute to vomit some more, then wiped his mouth and stuck out his tongue. "That," he said, "was not pleasant." He shook his head, fluffing out his hair as he did so, and looked at Menardi. "What about Kyle?"_

_"He got quite a lungful of water," Menardi replied. "I'm pretty sure he's going to be unconscious for a while. Most likely until we get to Prox, and probably even longer. At least that way he won't be giving us any more trouble." She held out two more pills and a cup of something that fizzed and bubbled. "Here."_

_Felix eyed the cup suspiciously. "That's not more ipecac, is it?"_

_"No, it's to help settle your stomach from taking the ipecac," Menardi replied. She forced the cup into his hands. "Do you think I enjoy making you suffer?"_

_"Sometimes I wonder about that," Felix muttered, slowly taking the pills in Menardi's hand and swallowing them. He took a drink of the bubbling liquid, made a face, and drank the rest of it in one swig. "Nasty stuff," he said with a wince._

_"Well, it would have tasted better, but I put a sleeping draught in it," Menardi said. Felix stared at her in disbelief, his jaw dropping slightly and his eyebrows raising. She continued. "It'll take a bit of time to kick in, but once it does, you'll be out like a light until will give Saturos and I time to recover our Psynergy, and you time to recover some of your health. We're planning to stop at Kalt Island and trade before we head back to Prox. We have some things to trade with the couple-" she stopped speaking. Felix was staring at her plaintively. "Now, what's that look for? I'm just trying to help you recover!"_

_"I want to go home," Felix said. He very suddenly sounded like a small child pleading for his mother's arms. "I miss Vale. I want to go back." His hands clenched into fists, wrinkling his bedsheets._

_"You can't go back," Menardi answered._

_"My sister, though, who will take care of her? Who's going to keep Isaac and Garet in shape? And who's left for Old Kraden to teach?" He looked down into his lap. "I want my sister." His fists tightened._

_"Don't start sniveling now!" Menardi groaned. "We still have to get to Prox, boy! Go to sleep! You're just upset because you're tired!"_

_"No!" Felix yelled. "I'm worried about Jenna!" Tears were slowly trickling down his cheeks. "I'm scared! What if she's scared, too?"_

_"Sitting here and blubbering won't solve anything, Felix. Hopefully, that drug will kick in soon, and then there'll be no more crying." Felix looked up and wiped his eyes on one of his wrists. His eyelids were beginning to droop already. "Go to bed!" Menardi said. "In the morning, we'll go to Kalt Island. And forget about your sister, Felix! You are dead to her, and she should be dead to you!"_

_"I want Jenna!" Felix's body was wracked by sobs. "I want my sister!"_

_"Go to sleep!" Menardi said. Felix laid down, but continued sniffling as he finally fell asleep._

**X~X~X**

"...hat day. When I left you lying there..." Sasuke suddenly said, snapping Felix back to where he was. "I had only spared your life on a whim, nothing more."

Sasuke kept looking at his former comrades as his stare was swiftly replaced by a cold glare.

Felix's knuckles tightly clenched the hilt of his sword as he watched Sasuke swiftly move from atop the crater to where Naruto was standing, draping his left arm around his shoulder as if hugging him.

"How did he...?!" Sakura said, shocked by Sasuke's agility.

_'He's fast...'_ Yamato thought, looking as though he was about ready to strike.

"He's up to something..." Felix muttered. "Be ready."

"Come to think of it," Sasuke said calmly to Naruto, as though Sakura, Sai, Yamato, Piers and Felix weren't even there. "Wasn't it always been your dream to become the Hokage? All of the time you spent chasing after me would be better used in training. Wouldn't you agree... Naruto?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Felix demanded, looking into the raven's emotionless black eyes even though Sasuke completely ignored him.

"But this time, my whim is telling me..." Felix's eyes went wide as he saw Sasuke reach back to grasp the handle of his sword, the afternoon sunlight glinting off its sharp edge. "...to finish what I started."

_'Is he trying to kill his only friend...?'_ Felix thought to himself, his finger unconsciously brushing against the hilt of his sword.

"How can I ever become Hokage... if I can't even save a friend...?" Naruto asked after Sasuke positioned his sword into a stabbing position. "Isn't that right... Sasuke?"

Sasuke said nothing as he drew the blade back, ready to plunge it into Naruto's back, but Felix had anticipated this move. He lunged forward, blocking Sasuke's sword with his arm before the tip of the sword came close to piercing Naruto's skin.

After checking to see if Naruto was okay, Felix turned and glared daggers into Sasuke, who had a slightly amused smirk on his face.

"That block you selected... was the correct one." Sasuke said, still smirking.

Felix narrowed his eyes as he quickly shoved Naruto out of the way before jumping back himself, watching as a impenetrable barrier of lightning formed around Sasuke before instantly dissipating.

"Felix!" Piers exclaimed over the crackling electricity of Sasuke's Chidori Nagashi that sounded like a thousand birds chirping at once. "You know what's going on?"

Felix shook his head. "Not that I know of. But all I know is that Sasuke is a very dangerous opponent that we have faced."

Drawing his sword out, Felix immediately ran up to Sasuke, hoping to catch the young Uchiha off-guard, and after what seemed to be a fruitless battle, Sasuke was once again standing near the crater.

"I don't know why you're bent on killing your only friend, Sasuke." Felix said, drawing his sword and looking up at the crater where Sasuke was now standing. "But you leave me no other choice."

"Wait, Felix..." Yamato said, slowly getting up and limping over to where the Venus Adept was standing while clutching the still-bleeding wound from when Sasuke stabbed him.

"Captain..." Felix said, looking at Yamato as he lowered his sword. "What are you doing?"

"I have no vendetta against Sasuke, but as he's a rogue shinobi, he shouldn't be able to wander." Yamato said, looking at Sasuke.

Felix, who wanted to know what 'rogue' meant, instantly knew that Sasuke was something of a wanted man much like he was back when Saturos and Menardi were alive.

"We must take him back to the Leaf village by any means necessary." Yamato continued, snapping Felix out of his thoughts.

Felix nodded. "I understand."

"The Leaf village..." Sasuke murmured aloud, looking down at them. "I'm done with the lot of you."

Felix instantly remembered the similar words that he had said to Isaac back at the Venus Lighthouse.

**X~X~X**

_"I don't need you or anyone to rescue me, Isaac! I was just about to settle things with Saturos and Menardi…. You can watch! And then we'll show you the true power of this beacon's light!"_

_"Felix, are you bloody insane? Some gratitude you show for a guy saving your ass!"_

_"Would you shut up for one moment?! Stand back or go away!"_

**X~X~X**

Felix narrowed his eyes as he watched Sasuke bury his sword halfway through the dirt to perform a series of hand signs that were moving incredibly fast.

"IT'S OVER!" Sasuke said before he silently raised his hand...

...only to have Orochimaru grab it minutes before Sasuke had killed them all.

"I wouldn't bother using that Jutsu..." He said, still holding Sasuke's left hand.

"Let go." Sasuke said threateningly, looking at Orochimaru.

"Now, Sasuke..." Kabuto said, appearing next to the two. "Don't tamper with Lord Orochimaru."

"That's right." A voice said as a turquoise-haired man appeared next to Kabuto.

"YOU!" Felix screamed.

Alex smirked down at the angry Venus Adept. "Hello again, Felix." He said before turning towards Sasuke. "We need them to eliminate each and every member of the Akatsuki as soon as possible."

"Don't you agree with Alex, Sasuke?" Orochimaru asked as he released Sasuke's left arm.

Sasuke lowered his arm before staring at Naruto one last time.

"We're leaving." Sasuke said coldly before they disappeared in a burst of fire except for Alex, who was looking at Felix.

"I suggest you go and ignite the Jupiter Lighthouse, Felix." Alex said, looking down at Felix before he vanished.

Felix closed his eyes and sighed as he heard the sound of tears falling from Naruto's eyes.

"I failed... again..." He said, his entire body shaking.

"Crying won't bring Sasuke back, Naruto." Sakura said, her eyes also shining with tears. "You're not alone."

"You still have me." Sai said, smiling.

"I suggest that we head back to the village." Felix said, standing up.

**X~X~X**

In the relative darkness and quietness of his bedroom, Felix slammed his door behind him, punching the wall furiously as he let his emotions break free. He punched it several more times, watching as his vision blurred with tears that fell to the ground. Gods, damn it, this was never supposed to happen!

"It was all for nothing," he muttered, finding himself getting angrier by the second. He glared around his room, wanting to break something but knowing he would only pay for it. He settled for his pack, which was leaning against the foot of the bed. He took two quick steps and kicked it, sending it flying across the room and spilling its contents.

The Djinn naturally started freaking out, and began zipping around the room, squeaking in panic. Felix ignored them and set about picking up the things he had packed, but paused when he saw the mask lying on the floor, completely undamaged. He picked it up and sat on the bed, staring at the green and blue paint that had somehow managed to go without chipping or cracking, despite the few years it had been.

**X~X~X**

_"Felix!" Felix glanced over and saw Karst and Agatio standing apart from the rest of the group. They waved him over, and Karst blushed as he approached._

_"We uh…" she faltered slightly, "We got something for you."_

_Agatio handed over a bundle wrapped in a light cloth, which Felix took with a smile._

_Felix pulled the string off the bundle and the cloth fell away to reveal a wooden mask._

_"We uh, we knew how you weren't looking forward to coming home, and we thought we'd make this for you, so that way nobody will recognize you."_

_Felix smiled and tried it on, and was surprised that it fit perfectly._

_"Wow you guys," he said, pulling the mask off, "I don't know what to say.."_

_Suddenly Agatio perked up._

_"Hey, is that my mom calling?"_

_Felix and Karst both shot him a quizzical look, "I didn't hear anything.." she said, but Agatio dashed off, leaving the two alone in the knee deep snow._

_Karst blushed furiously as she realized just what Agatio was doing._

_'Stupid oaf…' She thought, 'I'm going to murder him in a minute.'_

_"So…" Felix said, as a mildly awkward silence settled over the pair. He was about to continue, when Karst shook her head, and promptly jumped at Felix, wrapping her arms tightly around his chest._

_"Come back safe, okay Mud-boy? The only person who's allowed to hurt you is me." Before Felix could do anything, she released him and ran off without another word._

**X~X~X**

Felix stood suddenly, his anger having vanished, replaced now with a determined resolve. Still ignoring his now slightly calmer Djinn, he walked out of the inn, mask in hand. He didn't get very far, as he was about to pass the same stone bench that Sasuke had left Sakura lying on two years ago when he heard a familiar voice that momentarily stopped him in his tracks.

"You're leaving, aren't you?"

Felix sighed and ran a hand down his face as he turned around and found himself looking into a pair of beautiful bright emerald eyes that was looking at him from the bench. He watched her for a few moments, a small part of him fearing that this was the last time he would ever get to see her. Ignoring his fear, he took a deep breath, and spoke.

"I'm sorry, Sakura." he said softly, not wanting to break her heart like Sasuke did before he left to go to Orochimaru, yet at the same time, wanting her to hear what he had to say. "But I can't stay here very long. I must go before things get even worse..." Felix choked on his own words as he realized just how responsible Sasuke was for causing Sakura so much pain.

"I know." Sakura said, walking up to him. "Its because of your mission to ignite the two lighthouses."

"FELIX!" Jenna yelled, looking at her older brother impatiently.

Sakura felt two gloved fingers tap the middle of her forehead.

"Don't worry. I'll see you soon." Felix said, a handsome smile planted on his face before he added in a soft whisper, "Good-bye."

With those words, Felix turned around and left the quiet village of Konohakagure. Sakura felt a blush cross her cheeks, her heart soaring with hope as she smiled back.

"Felix!" Sakura screamed, cupping her hand on the side of her mouth. "Good luck!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Since Isaac, Felix, Matthew, and their teams have their respective djinn (even though the ones that you get in Dark Dawn are the same ones from the first GS and TLA), I made an OC Jupiter djinn named Whistle that Sakura teams up with.**

**And another thing, I'm reusing the scene from Chapter 5 of my other Naruto crossover story that I finished because I didn't know what to write. So, please don't send me a nasty comment.**

**Also, this takes place after the Itachi Pursuit arc in the Shippūden timeline as well as the arc where Naruto and Sora (the monk and NOT the KH character) met. And does it seem odd that Tobi and Tolbi sound almost similar?**

**And no, this is NOT a Sakura/Felix chapter. Rest assured, SasuSaku fans. Also, you're probably going to see a small fighting scene between Sasuke and Felix.**

**X~X~X**

Over a year had passed since the death of Asuma Sarutobi at the hands of Hidan and Kakuzu of the Akatsuki as well as their deaths at the hands of Shikamaru Nara along with the deaths of one of Orochimaru's former apprentices, Orochimaru himself, and Itachi Uchiha at the hands of the cold, stoic, once-vengeful Sasuke Uchiha as well as Deidara of the Akatsuki killing himself in a kamikaze-like explosion with his detonating clay in a last-ditch effort to kill Sasuke.

Felix and his team had left the village of Konohakagure, and Sakura had just returned from a important mission when she declared that she wanted to look for Sasuke on her own.

"I see. So, you're still planning on going after Sasuke?" Tsunade asked in a saddened voice, looking at Sakura from her paperwork after telling Naruto the sad news that Jiraiya had died at the hands of Pein, the leader of the Akatsuki.

"Yes, milady." Sakura said, nodding. "But there's something I also want to do by myself as well."

"What is it, Sakura?" Tsunade asked as she, Kakashi and Naruto looked at her.

Sakura took a deep breath and looked at Tsunade, remembering the brown haired young man that left the village a year ago. "I would also like to accompany Felix-kun and his team in igniting the last two elemental lighthouses."

Naruto, Kakashi and Tsunade looked at Sakura with shocked expressions on their faces.

"Why would you help them?" Tsunade asked in disbelief. "They're not even from Konoha!"

Sakura gnawed on her bottom lip, anticipation unravelling in her stomach. "I know, but I would still like to help them out."

Tsunade instinctively let out a sigh of annoyance at her student's actions before she nodded.

"Very well. You're dismissed." The blonde haired Hokage said, returning to her paperwork. "But before you go, I have something for you."

"What is it?" Sakura asked, her bright emerald eyes looking up at the woman as she came around the desk with a sword in her hands.

"This sword is called the Masamune. May it bring good fortune on your journey." Tsunade said, extending the sword out.

Sakura examined the sword in Tsunade's hands with great interest. It had a thin scabbard similar to how Sasuke's sword was in its sheath when she, Naruto, Sai, and Yamato met and fought him. The hilt of the sword was encrusted with diamonds and emeralds. At the pommel was a polished ruby.

"Thank you, Lady Tsunade." Sakura said, bowing as she left the Hokage tower after taking the sword. "I'll leave tomorrow."

**X~X~X**

In the faint light of the dawn, the bedroom was almost eerily quiet. Sakura stood at one side of the room, an open scroll on the dresser in front of her. Softly, she chanted the jutsu that would place all of her belongings there, including the ones she had recently purchased.

Once this was done, she skillfully rolled the scroll and shoved it into the pouch already strapped to her waist. She was fully-dressed, her clothes non-descriptive to ease her on-coming journey and her hair pulled back in a neat bun at the nape of her neck. She double-checked to make sure everything was in order and was satisfied to see that it was.

Finally, she turned around, and walked out the front door, locking it instantly.

As soon as she left Konohakagure the same way that Sasuke left two years ago, Sakura saw a small purple creature sitting on the bench, waiting for the pink haired kunoichi to pass.

"I hope you're looking for my friends." It said, flying up towards Sakura's face.

"Your friends?" Sakura repeated.

The creature nodded. "We were separated when Mt. Aleph erupted a few days ago."

Sakura immediately remembered Felix telling her that Mt. Aleph was at the foot of the hometown that he, Jenna, Isaac, and Garet came from, Vale.

"What's your name?" The pink haired kunoichi asked, kneeling down in front of the small, innocent creature.

"My name is Whistle, and I'm a Jupiter djinn." Whistle said as he looked at Sakura. "And I know you're going to the Jupiter Lighthouse."

Sakura nodded. "I sure am."

"Take me with you. Please!" He said, crying hysterically.

Within minutes, Sakura found herself nodding before the djinn was enveloped in rays of purple light that entered her body and boosting her powers by means of Jupiter Psynergy.

As she made her way towards the continent of Indra, the same continent that Felix, Jenna, Sheba, Kraden, and Piers were washed ashore before their quest began, Sakura noticed a flooded and destroyed lighthouse with a green sphere at the very top that was yards away from an unfinished lighthouse and was dangerously close to the destroyed foundations. Instantly remembering the two lighthouses from Felix's story as the Venus Lighthouse and Babi's Lighthouse while shaking her head at the thought of visiting Iodem, who became the new Lord of Tolbi after the untimely death of Babi, Sakura pressed onward towards the Jupiter Lighthouse before either Felix or Isaac got there.

**X~X~X**

The next day at sunrise, Felix and the gang were about to leave the Shaman's Village, having conquered Trial Road and earning the Hover Jade. Moapa was waiting for them at the village entrance.

"The time has come for you heroes to leave for your quest has it not?" Moapa said gravely.

"Yes, we must leave now and light the beacon of Jupiter Lighthouse." Felix said. "Our parent's lives depend on it."

"You have my sympathy." Moapa said. "We of the shaman village have closed our minds and hearts to outsiders for the past age because we do not want our loved ones to be hurt. But now… we may begin reaching outwards to those that we have previously ignored."

"It is a good start." Kraden said. "We wish your village the best of luck."

"Thank you." Moapa said. "When we were charged with guarding the Hover Jade, Hoabna's friend Yegelos spoke of a time when the beacons would be lit again. He also said that the heroes that light the beacons would have to endure many difficult trials. There is not much that we can do, but if you ever come back we shall help you as best we can. Farewell brave heroes."

Moapa bowed and slowly walked back to his village.

"They weren't such bad people after all." Sheba commented.

"Yes, its funny how some people turn out when they open up a bit." Piers said.

"Very." Felix said dryly. "We should hurry back to Contigo as fast as we can. Let's go." As the gang started walking, Jenna realised that a golden opportunity had fallen into her lap to force a full confession out of Felix about what had happened two night's ago. So she grabbed Felix by the arm and started running.

"Come on Felix, let's run for it then!" Jenna said with a grin. Felix could only wonder why he had to put with such a pushy sister while everyone else laughed at him. A minute later Jenna and Felix had left the rest of the gang in their dust, and Felix had had enough of being pulled around like a pet.

"Why are you dragging me around so much Jenna?" Felix asked as he caught his breath. Jenna turned to face him and grinned.

"Well, there was something that I wanted to talk to you about." Jenna said amid her giggling. "Feeeeeeelix… have you been hiding something from me?" Felix groaned at his sister's attitude.

"What do you mean Jenna?" Felix asked bluntly.

"Well, you and Sheba have been avoiding each other since you got yourself drunk." Jenna said innocently. "And yesterday I saw what happened when you gave her that apple."

"And your point is?" Felix asked, fighting the butterflies, embarrassment and the anger in his stomach that he felt building up.

"Something did happen between the two of you, didn't it?" Jenna asked jokingly. "So what are the two of you hiding?"

"Nothing at all." Felix said angrily, stepping away from Jenna. "Back off, it's none of your business." Jenna flinched and felt her temper rise.

"It is a part of my business! You're family!" Jenna shouted hotly. "Am I supposed to sit back and watch as my brother drowns himself in alcohol and thinks about no-one but himself?" Felix's eyes widened in anger, and Jenna knew she had hit a sensitive spot.

"Think about no-one but myself? Damn it Jenna!" Felix shouted back. "The last year I've been doing nothing but worry about everyone around me! I've been fighting and protecting you, Kraden, Sheba and Piers! I've been doing it for so long that I barely sleep anymore! So why don't you just leave me alone!" Jenna looked at Felix in shock. She realised that the cause of Felix's problems were to do with this quest and how his taking responsibility for everyone was becoming a burden that he couldn't carry on his own.

"I won't ever leave you alone!" Jenna said as tears of guilt fell down her face. "You're my brother, and we've been separated for three years. I care about you too much. I love you Felix…" Felix felt the anger drain from his stomach in an instant. And all that was left was the worry and despair that led him to getting drunk in the first place. He felt hollow, and upset for hurting Jenna again.

"Jenna… Sheba said that exact line… that she wanted to help me because she cared." Felix said as his body shook with guilt and regret. "But… I pushed her away… and I tried to push you away too. Jenna… I'm so sorry."

"Felix, it's going to be ok." Jenna said as she hugged her brother fiercely. "But please don't push me or Sheba away from you, especially when you're feeling sorry for yourself." Felix felt his own tears flowing freely, and in his mind pieces of guilt and doubt fell off of him as he cried.

"I won't do that now." Felix said sadly. "I've been such an idiot in doing that, and an even bigger idiot for getting drunk." Jenna managed to laugh at Felix, and she too felt a little bit better.

"You're right Felix. You've been a total idiot, but there's still time to make up for that." Jenna said.

"Yes, I'll have to talk to Sheba very soon." Felix said as he brushed away Jenna's tears. "Before we go and climb Jupiter Lighthouse."

"Good idea Felix, I'm sure that you'll do fine." Jenna said. "But… let me know how it all goes ok?" Felix smiled.

"Of course, I think that it should be worth a laugh or two later on." Felix said. "I suppose that if anyone didn't hear our fighting we should count our blessings. Let's keep going. I… love you Jenna."

And with that they made their way back to Piers' ship.

**X~X~X**

After minutes of traveling on foot, Sakura eventually arrived at the small village of Contigo, a place that was next to the large crater on the Atteka inlet and was located farther away from Indra, Idejima, Gondowan, and Angara, as she did a little bit of shopping before she sensed a presence of five people behind her.

"I was hoping whether you'd show up... Felix."

"Miss Sakura, what are you doing here?" Kraden asked, looking at Sakura.

"Yeah. What are you doing here?" Felix asked, his chocolate eyes staring into her bright emerald eyes. "Did you follow us?"

As she turned around, Felix noticed that she wore her hair in a tight bun, but shook it off.

Sakura turned around to face the brown haired Venus Adept. "Yes, and I'm going to help you guys ignite the Jupiter Lighthouse."

Felix looked down and chuckled. "I guess you would join us in igniting the lighthouse."

"Yeah, since we already got the Hover Jade from Shaman Village." Sheba said, smiling.

"Hover Jade?" Sakura repeated.

Sheba nodded at Sakura as she pulled out a bright emerald gemstone from her bag.

"That's so beautiful." Sakura said as Sheba put the Hover Jade back in her bag. "You guys traded the Shaman's Rod that you got back at the Venus Lighthouse for that?"

"Yeah." Felix said, remembering how he had to race the Chieftain through Trial Road. "It wasn't easy, though."

"Are we going to keep talking or are we going to ignite the Lighthouse?" Jenna asked, snapping Sakura, Felix, and Sheba back to where they were.

"Sorry, Jenna." Sakura said, smiling.

When they arrived at the Jupiter Lighthouse, Sakura looked at the violet colored tower in awe. The moment Felix stepped inside the doorway, he felt something leeching his strength away, bit by bit. It felt as though someone was gently pressing on his shoulders, pushing his strength out of him and onto the floor. He took a long, deep breath, only to feel that something was forcing the air out of his lungs as well.

"Felix!" Sakura exclaimed, running over towards the Venus Adept. "Are you alright?"

"Does anyone else feel kind of sick?" he asked in a shaking voice. Now his stomach was rebelling as well; he felt like he would vomit at any time.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of this." Sakura said as she spread her hands on his neck.

"Thanks, Sakura." Felix said, getting up on his feet again.

"So, what do we ignite the beacon with?" Sakura asked, looking at Felix.

"This." Felix said simply, pulling out a silver bag that looked like it was forged out of Mythrill as Sakura noticed a violet glow emitting from within the bag.

Taking the mythril-forged bag out of his hands, Sakura opened the bag and saw a beautiful light-violet gemstone glowing inside the bag. She gently pulled the stone out and instantly felt a surge of Jupiter energy flowing from within before she put the stone back in the bag, realizing that the purple gemstone was the Jupiter Star.

"This is so beautiful, but let's go." Sakura said, handing the mythril bag back to Felix.

After making their way through the inside of the Jupiter Lighthouse, Sakura immediately sensed four other people entering the Lighthouse as soon as they saw that the aerie of the Lighthouse was clogged up by a stone plug.

"I guess we might have to remove the stone clogging up the aerie of the lighthouse in order to throw the Jupiter Star in." Sakura said, looking at Felix.

Felix nodded. "I understand."

After they effortlessly removed the stone plug clogging up the aerie of the Jupiter Lighthouse, Sakura heard the sound of a woman screaming and someone also screaming out "Mia!" as they went outside.

"That sounds like Garet." Kraden said as he also heard the voice.

"Does this mean that Isaac must be here?" Sakura asked, bright emerald eyes looking up at the old man.

"Probably." Kraden said, nodding as he along with Felix looked up to see what was happening.

**X~X~X**

Piers shrugged, holding his left hand on the hilt of his blade. Karst and Agatio stood behind them, and had nearly achieved their goals until Felix had intervened. Karst had labeled him a traitor for saving Isaac, she said she'd seen it in his eyes, and it had hurt to hear her finally utter those words the way she did, after all they'd said before. It was finally, undeniably so; he had no hope of having her. It was beyond him to let Karst end Isaac's life, no matter how much empathy he had for her. It was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do.

Piers handed him the Jupiter Star.

"Toss it in, and get ready." He said. "I don't trust these two."

Felix nodded, and took the star. He cast the little orb into the Beacon, and was suddenly thrown back on his heels by the powerful flash of Jupiter Psynergy.

"...Felix..."

Karst's voice whispered from behind him. He turned and saw her and Agatio; Karst stepped back, after coming close enough to whisper his name...

"We simply can't trust you anymore..." She said out loud.

"And now that Jupiter Lighthouse is lit, I'm afraid we have little use for traitors..." Said Agatio.

"What are you saying...?" Said Felix, and Karst stepped up next to him, so close their faces nearly touched, and whispered again:

"I'm sorry... But you made your choice."

She spoke to him softly, and came even closer, her lips only an inch away from his own. So close, he could feel her heated breath, and his stomach turned as she took one more step, and her lower lip brushed against his...

She jumped back but a second later, Felix's nerves still racing, his heart still beating like a drum... But something was wrong. His pocket felt lighter... And suddenly he realized what exactly Karst had just done.

"They stole the Mars Star!" He said to Piers, who nodded. He eyed Felix for a moment; what he'd just seen must have struck him as very odd...

Karst laughed, and tossed the Star to Agatio, who stowed it in his pocket. She readied her scythe, and prepared to fight.

"It's time to die, Felix."

Karst struck out at Felix first. She came at him quickly; she had always been light on her feet, probably a result of training in Prox's deep snow. Felix had been through the same thing though, and had grown much stronger in his travels. He jumped back, clear of the long reach of her scythe, and made a swift jabbing counterattack with his sword. She parried it easily, and advanced on him again. It appeared that she'd greatly improved as well in the months he'd been gone. Her weapon was no dull training blade, either. Felix continued to dodge her blows, as he feared that if he should try to parry her strikes, her massive scythe would bend or outright shatter his small iron sword. He used to wonder how such a small-framed girl could wield something so heavy, until he had his first real duel with her. The way she wielded her weapon let the weight of the heavy blade carry her through as she gained momentum. She let the scythe do the fighting for her. She used wide, heavy sweeps, and twirled her small body like a dervish. Even then, she was surprisingly agile when not using her momentum to her advantage; the only way she could move and attack so quickly would be if Proxian scythes were made from some type of weightless, yet, somehow extremely heavy and powerful metal. Dark Matter, perhaps.

She was relentless, one slash after another, each of which Felix was forced to dodge and duck under. She lashed out with a blast of Psynergy after a long line of attacks, which caught him off guard and singed his chest. It made his old scars tingle under his skin. As the battle went on, he began to tire; his attacks were becoming slow and clumsy, and he'd accumulated a plethora of cuts, burns and bruises on his arms, legs and body, which were beginning to take their toll on his strength. She landed a blow with the hilt of her scythe that struck him clean in the chest, and knocked the breath out of his body. Staggered, he tried to regain his balance. There was a small window as Karst raised her scythe again to finish him off, and he swung his sword in a quick uppercut, putting all his remaining strength behind this final desperate attack. As he struck out at Karst, he cut her just above the eye, and she screamed and clutched her face as the blood blinded her vision. Felix backed off, feeling too guilty to attack her while she was blind, but she took no time to recover and wiped the blood from her face as she continued her attack. She aimed for his legs, and he jumped over her sweeping blow and struck out at her again, this time intending just to stun her and not cause further harm. He succeeded, landing a hard blow with the flat edge of his sword against her knuckles. She dropped her scythe and screamed again, which was paired with the sound of shattering bone. It grated on Felix's ears, and his nerves, and he cringed at the sight of causing her such awful pain. He did not hesitate, and kicked the scythe away from her. She slumped down to her knees in defeat, cradling her one broken hand with the other. Her arm and legs were covered in blood.

Felix stared at her, until he finally took the time to look around, and saw that both Jenna and Sheba had joined the fray. Agatio was fighting with both of them, as well as Piers, and was on his last legs as well. He turned his attention back to Karst, who had scrambled for her weapon when he turned his back.

"Karst, wait!" He yelled, and tapped his Psynergy, shifting the ground under her scythe to knock it further away from her grip.

"Damn you, Felix! You traitor!" She spat at his feet. "I swear I'll never forgive you for this!"

"Karst..."

Felix sheathed his blade, and offered her his hand, which she rejected. She wouldn't stand, or perhaps she couldn't, and Felix turned away yet again to see Agatio defeated as well, slumped down and clutching a wound to his left arm that looked serious. They needed to be healed, immediately, or they probably wouldn't make it down the Lighthouse again...

"Finish us!" Agatio bellowed, taking him by surprise.

"What's the matter? Are you going to do it or not?" Choked Karst, retching an uncomfortably large amount of blood. He feared he may have hurt her far more than he'd intended.

Felix shook his head. "No. No one has to die here."

"You've made the better choice, Felix."

Alex appeared beside them, sporting his usual arrogant smile and smug appearance, and stood between Karst and Felix. He turned to the Proxians, and used his Psynergy to heal them both. Agatio and Karst stood up and faced Felix and the others, but were not strong enough to continue the fight. They could barely keep themselves standing as it was.

"I have revived them." Alex said.

"Why! Are you going to make us fight them again?" Said Jenna.

"Don't worry, Jenna. Look at them, they can barely walk right now."

Agatio and Karst glared at Alex, and he gave them a smirk.

"We should be going before Isaac and the others arrive."

They nodded in agreement.

Sakura, having already joined them, immediately collapsed on her hands and knees, gasping for breath as she heard a familiar, cold voice.

"Sakura..."

Sakura froze at the cold voice as she turned around. The cold, stoic, once-vengeful Sasuke Uchiha, the man she loved all her life and the man that always kept her at a distance, was standing next to the Jupiter beacon, a frown on his face as he looked at her through his black eyes.

"Please don't leave, Sasuke..." Sakura said, her emerald eyes shining with tears. "Just... listen to what I have to say to you."

"Make it quick." Sasuke said coldly.

"I..." Sakura came out with a stammer, trying but failing to keep her emotions from shattering. She watched as Sasuke was slowly walking away, and shouted after him. "I know in my heart that there's nothing I can do...even that I can't get close to you, or exchange blows with you..."

Felix, Jenna, Sheba, and Piers were still watching the exchange with solemn interest.

Sasuke still kept walking, as though he hadn't heard.

"...but I love you!" she screamed at him.

Then Sasuke stopped. His feet had stumbled slightly. Sakura's breath caught at this small change, feeling a tiny rise of hope that he was listening, but she didn't stop there.

"I care so much about you, Sasuke, and I can only whine, beg, and cry like this again," she said, her voice cracking. "It's totally pitiful, isn't it?"

_"Sakura...thank you for everything."_

"But...but Sasuke..." Sakura pleaded, tears running down her cheeks, "If there's any corner of your heart that thinks about me, even just a little...please don't leave again! If we just stick together, I know it can be like the old times again...someday..."

Sakura stared after him tearfully, waited for the Uchiha's response with bated breath. They all did. For the longest minute, Sasuke didn't seem to move from his spot.

Finally, his shoulder slightly relaxing, Sasuke slowly turned to glance at her with his Rinnegan eye. Straight at her. Unreadable, but almost...sad. "You..." he said, "...are so damned annoying."

Sakura's eyes widened...

_**THUNK!**_

Felix gasped and stopped in his tracks, taking in what he was seeing.

Sasuke was suddenly right in front of her..._with his hand plunged straight through her heart._

"No!" Felix screamed.

Sakura knelt there, frozen, staring straight into the blazing, angry gaze of Sasuke Uchiha, his hand still in her chest. Too much in shock to feel the pain that follow, Sakura watched him with tears stuck to her cheeks. Her hair swept from her face.

His eyes blazed at her behind his long bangs, seeming to sweep from the wind of his speed. Red and purple looking straight into her emerald green.

His beautiful face was calm, but his jaw was clenched and his eyes were enraged. Full of hate and disgust. Dark with ultimate intention. Murderous and...

A fat tear rolled down his cheek from his red Sharingan eye. A tear...was it her dying mind playing tricks on her? Sasuke never cried.

His eyes...were they possibly full of...sadness?

Was the hatred in his eyes really toward her...or toward himself?

_Hate me,_ his voice echoed, though his lips did not move.

_Do you love me now, Sakura?_

His voice was everywhere. Multiplying. Echoing. Mocking her. Belittling her.

_You're so damned annoying!_

_Annoying!_

_Nuisance! Weakling!_

_You make me sick!_

_What's the matter? You going to cry again?_

_Give it up already!_

_Just give up and leave me alone!_

_Can you love a demon, Sakura?!_

_Sakura..._

_Sakura..._

_SAKURA..._

Though he gave her a mocking grin, another tear rolled down his face from his Rinnegan eye.

What did it mean...?

_Sakura...thank you..._

It ended in a quiet whisper. Almost...like he was in pain. Like her.

_Sasuke..._

It was her last thought before darkness drowned her as she felt her body fall forward, but Felix managed to catch her before she hit the ground.

"Sakura, please wake up..." Felix said, gently shaking the pink haired woman.

But there was silence.

"Piers." Felix said as he slowly picked his sword off the ground and sheathed it. "Take Sakura back to Contigo. I'll meet you there."

Piers nodded as he gently picked Sakura off the floor of the Lighthouse and carried her to one of the elevators where Jenna and Sheba were.

"Felix..." Piers said before leaving. "Be careful."

He nodded back to him before he stared straight into the eyes of the cold, stoic, once-vengeful Sasuke Uchiha, the man she loved all her life and the man that always kept her at a distance. He noticed that Sakura's blood was dripping from Sasuke's left arm after he attacked her, noticing that the Uchiha's Rinnegan glowed lightly, and his other glowed crimson with his clan's kekkei genkai. Felix said nothing - he'd seen stranger things before.

"What have you done to her?!" Felix demanded as he immediately ran up to Sasuke and grabbed him by the collar of his short-sleeved gray shirt.

"Keep your hands off of me." The iciness that dripped from his tone made Felix look like he wanted to explode.

Felix clenched his fists. He stood before Sasuke, staring the Uchiha teen right in his eyes. Neither moved.

Sasuke smirked slightly and Felix glared him down. The violent tension rose between them.

"I'm going to make you regret for doing what you did to her!" Felix said through clenched teeth.

Sasuke tilted his head to the side, eyes boring into the Venus. Felix's glare intensified as he ran up to Sasuke and grabbed him by the collar of his short-sleeved gray shirt. Sasuke's smirk vanished as Felix punched him in the face, sending the young Uchiha flying towards the mouth of the Aerie as the Venus Adept pinned him to the floor.

"Bastard!" Felix spat, looking into the obsidian eyes of the Uchiha beneath him. "Sakura just wanted to save you. She always did."

Sasuke glanced back suddenly. "You want me to play at romance?" he snapped, his tone slow and full of anger now. "I have no reason to like her, nor does she have any reason to like me."

That was the last thing that Sasuke said before Felix punched him again.

"You keep telling yourself that," Felix said through clenched teeth, his tone almost matching Sasuke's, "but you only need a reason to hate a person! Sakura is not trying or wanting to make you hers! She only wants to save you! She whom you came close to killing once...She feels for and spills tears over you, even now...because she suffers from loving you!" he shouted the last words.

Every word was a knife jabbing into a cold, darkened heart. The memory of Sakura's tearful, agonized face pleading after him, before changing into shock and horror when he cast the genjutsu on her, and then going slack with unconsciousness before falling, her body hitting the ground unceremoniously…..Sasuke felt dead inside.

Sasuke had listened in silence, his expression unreadable. He was quiet for a long time. Felix just hoped that Sasuke would feel something, at least a little remorse, for Sakura's sake... Either way, the Venus Adept could tell the raven had heard his words.

Sasuke then replied, his eyes hidden behind his long bangs. "Perhaps..." he said quietly, almost sadly, "...those are the ties...to a failed past..."

The young Uchiha quickly got off from beneath the Venus Adept and looked at him before Sasuke had sensed Isaac's group coming up the Aerie. Agatio followed closely behind Alex as he headed for the elevator, and Karst followed him in turn, eyeing Felix as she passed by him.

Then, to Felix's shock, Sasuke glared at him through his Sharingan eye.

"See you at the Mars Lighthouse... Felix." Sasuke said coldly.

The Uchiha then leapt away over the beacon without looking back. Felix lingered a few minutes, watching the space into which Sasuke and Alex, along with Agatio and Karst, disappeared. He turned to leave, only to be stopped by a sharp voice that he immediately recognized as Isaac's.

**"Felix!"**

The dark-haired warrior did not respond, but started walking away, in the direction of the elevator that the rest of his team had taken.

"Felix!" Isaac echoed sharply.

"Enough, Isaac," he said, invoking no emotion.

"ENOUGH?" Isaac screamed, closing the distance between himself and Felix. "I want the real reason why you're firing the Lighthouses!"

"Are you challenging me, Isaac?" Felix asked, his eyes locked with Isaac's.

Isaac glared back, "I am if you continue."

"Can we settle this in Contigo?" Ivan asked, looking up at their blond haired leader.

"Okay, Ivan." Isaac said before turning back towards Felix. "But I'm warning you, Felix. If you run off without telling us."

The blonde made his way towards the left elevator just before the right one came back up.

"Felix!" Kraden exclaimed, running over to the brown-haired Adept. "I heard the news from Piers. Is it true that Sasuke..."

"Yeah." Felix said, looking up at the swirling Jupiter beacon. "I saw him attack her with my own eyes."

**X~X~X**

"How is she, Piers?" Felix asked, looking at Piers as soon as he and Kraden made their way back to Contigo.

"She's still unconscious." Piers said, stepping to the side to let Felix into the small room while looking at Sakura. "I don't know what Sasuke used on her when he rammed his arm through her heart."

Felix stepped over beside the bed and examined Sakura. Whatever spell that Sasuke had used on her after the Uchiha called her "annoying" for the third time, it completely rendered her unconscious. His eyes roamed around her body for any bloody holes over her heart. Strangely, there were no holes, which meant Sasuke hadn't killed her, but instead sent her into a dreamlike state.

_"You...are so damned annoying."_ Sasuke's threatening voice echoed inside Felix's head before the brunette shook the thought off.

"What took you two so long, Felix?" Piers asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Isaac." Felix said, not taking his eyes off of the pink haired kunoichi. "I'd like to be alone... with her."

"Alright." Kraden said, quietly shutting the door behind him.

Felix cracked his knuckles. He found himself wondering if he even had enough Psynergy left to revive Sakura or hopefully regain her consciousness.

In the relative darkness and quietness of his bedroom, Felix quietly took his gloves off and placed them on top of the dresser as he opened Sakura's shirt slowly, careful not to disturb her sleep. He sighed with relief as he removed her outer layer. There was nothing lodged within her body, which was what he was worried about. Anything else, he knew he could deal with. He lifted up her undershirt modestly, blushing furiously as even his stoic nature couldn't help but notice Sakura's soft, white skin.

He forced those thoughts to the back of his mind, and concentrated on the hole under Sakura's left breast. He focused his healing powers on the wound, though his abilities were somewhat weakened by the absence of his Djinn. After about twenty minutes of hard work, the wound, wherever it had come from, was closed and the bleeding stopped.

As Felix sat back against wall of the small bedroom, attempting to catch his breath, Sakura woke and sat up with a sharp gasp. Her head swimming, her hands automatically moved to her chest. Her heart pounded wildly against her palm on her left breast.

Alive. She was alive. What in the world-?

"You're awake," She jumped and turned to find that Felix was there, in a chair beside her, watching her wake. Sakura could barely make out his long, brown hair shining beautifully under the full moon.

"Felix..." she said. He turned to see her.

"How are you feeling?" Felix asked, gently putting a hand on her back and running it across the bandages on her left breast as Sakura's cheeks reddened slightly, and she noticed his gloves were off.

"I'm fine." Sakura said, sitting upright in the bed.

But as soon as she sat up, Sakura moaned loudly, as pain shot through her from the wound in her chest when she tried to sit up. Felix gently pushed her back down.

"Don't move more than you have to. I barely got your wound to stop bleeding." Felix said, adjusting her pink bangs before getting up.

"Why?" Sakura asked, bright emerald eyes looking up at the man.

Felix righted the stool and sat back on it, then broke the silence.

"You're still recovering from..." The lump in Felix's throat was making it hard to speak. "From when Sasuke... attacked you."

"Where are we?" Sakura asked, looking at her surroundings. "Where's Sasuke-kun…?"

"We're back in Contigo." Felix said, dipping something into a bowl of warm water. "And Sasuke already left."

Wringing the lukewarm water out of a soaked washcloth, Felix looked down at her and said, "This is going to hurt, a lot."

Closing her eyes in pain, Sakura felt her heartbeat quicken a little bit as Felix lifted her undershirt, and took what she hoped was an unnoticeable deep breath. She had found Felix's toned, muscular body attractive since she first laid eyes on him, but she had never even considered acting on those thoughts. It simply would not be proper to act on feelings like the ones she had for him. That said, however, it didn't make Felix's ministrations any less nerve-wracking. She took another deep breath and clenched her right fist tightly, attempting to move the thoughts out of her mind. Compartmentalizing a crush – especially a big one – was much easier said than done.

"There," said Felix, wiping the sweat from his brow and looking up as Sakura quickly pulled her shirt down. "All done."

"Genjutsu." She murmured to herself.

"I'm sorry?" Felix asked.

"I was... put under a genjutsu by Sasuke, otherwise known as an illusion." Sakura said, looking at Felix.

Felix scratched the back of his head. "Any idea why?"

Sakura whimpered a little, her hand still hovering over her chest as Felix said nothing.

There was silence.

"Felix, what's wrong?" she asked, looking at him.

"Why does Sasuke always call you 'annoying'?" Felix asked, looking at Sakura. "Does he have a grudge against you or something?"

Sakura turned her emerald eyes away from his captivating chocolate-brown ones. "I don't know if Sasuke-kun… has a grudge against me, but... I love him so much!"

Felix closed his eyes and sighed. She had someone who loved her dearly, but that someone attacked her instead of loving her back.

_'You're not the only one who's in love with someone that just attacked you like that, Sakura...'_ Felix thought to himself, remembering how close Karst was to kissing him.

The door immediately opened and Jenna poked her head in the room, accompanied by Sheba, Piers, and Kraden.

"Sakura!" Jenna exclaimed happily, hugging the bed-ridden pink haired kunoichi. "You're awake!"

Sakura moaned loudly, as Jenna wrapped her arms around her still-injured body.

"Not too tight, Jenna..." Sakura moaned out, trying to loosen the fiery Mars Adept's grip.

"She's still recovering from the illusion that Sasuke threw on her back at Jupiter Lighthouse." Felix said, getting up from his chair.

"An illusion, you say?" Piers asked.

"Interesting…" Kraden mused, scratching his beard.

"Speaking of which," Sakura said, looking up at Felix while remembering Isaac, Garet, Ivan, and Mia. "How's Isaac? Has he recovered?"

Jenna immediately felt her face turn almost as bright as her hair at the mention of Isaac's name.

**"SAKURA!"** Jenna screamed, blushing furiously as she lowered her head to hide her flustered face.

Sakura giggled lazily at Jenna's flushed face as she heard the blushing red-haired Mars Adept say:

"First Sheba and now Sakura?!"

Sheba also giggled.

"Yes." Felix said as his still-blushing sister slammed the door behind her after she left. "He's just in an empty house at the top of a hill, waiting for us."

"Us?" Sakura repeated.

"The four of us, that is."

Sakura nodded in understanding. "I'll wait outside until its time."


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Notes: I know that Sasuke doesn't lose his left arm until the end of Chapter 698 and all throughout Chapter 699 and The Last. However, instead of Sasuke losing his left arm during the final clash with Naruto at the Valley of the End, I had Sasuke lose his left arm in the room where you encounter the transformed versions of Agatio and Karst in the Mars Lighthouse before you heated the lighthouse, overcome its many trials, and face off against the Doom Dragon.**

**Also, you're going to see a very small Karlix (which I'm SO glad, yet disappointed, that didn't become canon) scene from Chapters 19 and 20 of "Cinders" by FroZehn (which was inspired by the picture of Felix holding a dying Karst that was drawn by forsakendays on DeviantART). I'm sorry for not asking you, but I really want to make this story for you.**

**And I know I'm late, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SASUKE!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and Golden Sun!**

**X~X~X**

The now reunited parties spent the night at the Inn in Contigo, and Felix had yet to turn in after the sun had set and the rest of his friends had gone to sleep. He'd ordered a drink, and sat alone in the lobby. It was damp and dark, only lit by a few candles and the light from the chef's oven. The smell of fresh cornbread wafted through the room. Many of the attendants and attendees were still very lively; Contigo must have had somewhat of a nightlife, but Felix wasn't in the mood to socialize.

Piers came in from the other room, and sat next to him. He paused for a moment to see if Felix would respond to his appearance, but when he heard nothing, he greeted him with a kindhearted "Hello".

He went to the barmaid and ordered a drink for himself, then sat down again and patted Felix on the shoulder.

"There there, Felix. That must have been rough." He said.

"What are you talking about?" Felix replied.

"Well, I think we both know what I'm talking about." He said, and smiled at him.

Piers took a sip from his frothy mug, and Felix followed suit. It was bitter. He set it back down, and pushed it across the table, away from him.

"What was all that, anyway?" Piers asked from over his cup. He'd drained it nearly halfway already.

"What was what?"

"Don't play dumb. You know what I mean."

Felix shook his head, and looked away. Piers set down his glass and stared in disbelief.

"Oh, come on. Jupiter Lighthouse. Prox girl. You two had a... Moment."

Felix looked up, and sighed. "It was nothing. It doesn't matter."

"From the look on your face, it looked like it mattered a whole lot."

"We were friends. That's all."

"Oh, I don't think you were just friends."

He glared at Piers. "Where does he get off prying into my business like this? Lemurians never seem to like acting like normal human beings."

"Now now, no need to get cross," Piers said, "I'm only concerned for your well being."

Felix took a deep breath and cleared his thoughts. "I'm fine." He said, and Piers nodded. The sailor stood up, and left Felix alone. He wondered if Piers somehow knew how he felt about Karst, and he hoped he wouldn't share that knowledge with the others, especially Jenna. She would probably have a fit if she knew how he felt about that girl. The only one he wouldn't mind knowing would be Sheba; she probably knew already anyway, since she could have read his mind at any time and seen her passing through his thoughts. He wondered what the others might think of him harboring such feelings for a girl that had just tried to kill them, and he laughed at the thought. It was probably more likely that they would just think it was a joke.

He decided it was best he go to bed, and returned to his room. Jenna had to bunk with him, as there now weren't enough beds for their larger party. She was already fast asleep in the bed, so Felix took a blanket and pillow from the nearby wardrobe and made himself a bed on the floor. Their bedroom was small, but quaint and quiet, just what he needed to rest his tired body. His wounds had been healed, but his mind still plagued him with a festering guilt that made every muscle in his body ache. He tossed off his boots and removed his gloves, only then noticing the blotches of still-fresh blood that stained his palms. Karst's blood, not his. He threw them down on the floor beside him, averting his gaze. He looked over himself for any more blood, but found none, and let himself collapse into his makeshift bed, and drift of into unconsciousness...

**X~X~X**

The lavender haired oracle looked at Sakura through her violet eyes as soon as Sakura, along with Felix and Isaac's teammates, saw the Wings of Anemos now on the sides of Piers' Lemurian ship when they arrived at the Atteka Inlet, much to Piers' dismay.

"Before you go ignite the Mars beacon, I have yet to unlock your newfound power." Hama said, smiling at Sakura.

"My... power?" Sakura repeated, bright emerald eyes looking into Hama's violet eyes.

"You've been training under Tsunade, have you not?" Hama asked.

"You know Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked in shock.

Hama nodded, a smile crossing her lips.

"Yes. She and I have been friends ever since I first visited Konohakagure." Hama said.

"I see." Sakura said.

"I was also foretold that the young man known as Sasuke had already left the village." The Oracle said as Sakura lowered her head.

"Yes." Sakura said, tears flowing down her face as Hama wiped them off.

"Don't cry, Sakura. I'm sure you and Sasuke will meet each other again." Hama said before she placed her hands in front of Sakura's large forehead. "Close your eyes, my dear."

Sakura did so, and Felix couldn't help but be astonished as a purple diamond-like seal appeared in the center of her forehead.

"That is known as the Strength of a Hundred Seal. Use it when the time is right." Hama said as the seer removed her hands from Sakura's forehead before she turned her gaze towards Felix. "Show the people of Contigo the power of Hover."

**X~X~X**

In the relative darkness and quietness of the ship, the eight young adepts sat at the table in the common room of their proud Lemurian ship. Upon their safe return, Kraden had jubilantly exclaimed that a feast was in order, and a feast he had prepared – Kraden had long since earned the title of a master chef, and he had proven himself once again with his latest culinary exploit.

The main course, per Felix's suggestion, was phoenix – it tasted like chicken, but it had a more rich flavor; one could also detect a gamey taste in the initial bite. Everyone agreed that it was one of the most interesting dishes that Kraden had ever prepared. The scholar had also delved into the store of corn they had purchased from Contigo and procured some butter, allowing for delicious corn-on-the-cob. Mashed potatoes, soup, and several other vegetables also complimented the main courses. It was the best-prepared meal any of them had ever eaten on the ship.

The group laughed and chattered heartily as they passed the dishes down the table. As usual, Ivan and Garet received their food last – the serving bowls tended to become empty when they passed the two boys. As soon as everyone had loaded plates, unfinished conversations from earlier began in earnest.

"So Garet," began Mia, "what exactly happened to your arm?"

Garet shuddered slightly as he lifted his spoon to his mouth with his left hand.

"I fell off the gangway," he said. "I landed right on my arm. I felt it bend in, and then it hurt really bad for just a second.. After that, I couldn't feel anything. I heard the pop, too. Then I looked at it, and the bone was poking…"

"No-no-no-no-no!" exclaimed Sheba, who covered her ears with her hands. "Details later, please. I'm eating."

The Jupiter adept looked plaintively at her plate.

"Sorry, Sheba," apologized Garet, before turning back to Mia. "So, anyway, I fell, it broke, and then I remember being carried on the boat. After that, Isaac said that I needed to be unconscious, so I just passed out. I don't really know why."

Jenna and Sheba giggled slightly.

"But you're fine now?" Mia inquired.

"Well, I do have a pretty bad headache…" Garet intoned.

Sheba and Jenna's giggles erupted into laughter. Garet looked at them with confusion.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

The girls laughed even harder.

"Garet, you have a headache because we had to use… unorthodox methods to produce your anesthesia," said Piers apologetically.

"And that means…" said Garet, making circles with his good hand to Piers.

"I used my sword pommel," the Lemurian said.

"Oh," replied Garet, who, judging by his tone, did not much care for unorthodox anesthesia. "I gotcha."

The girls laughed again. Garet rolled his eyes.

"So how did you get his bone back in?" asked Mia.

"Kraden and Sheba did it," replied Ivan. "Sheba set the bone, and then Kraden did the stitches. And let me tell you, he's a brilliant surgeon."

"That's one way to put it," agreed Isaac. "He did an amazing job."

Mia beckoned Garet to stand up; she walked around the table and looked at his arm. She peered at it, probing the outer layers of their handiwork. After a few seconds, she voiced her opinion.

"Absolutely flawless," she affirmed, looking at Kraden at the head of the table. "I couldn't have done better."

Kraden accepted her compliment gratefully, and took a small bite of his dinner. Mia made her way back around the table, and smoothed the back of a new pair of robes as she sat down between Isaac and Sheba.

"So much has happened in the past few days," Mia stated as she exhaled.

"Agreed," said Jenna. "I'm amazed we made it through that storm, for one."

"Tell us about the storm," Felix said, in his own very concise way.

"Yes, I'd like to hear what happened after we fell off, too," Mia added.

"We didn't have a pilot for more than five hours," said Isaac. "If you hadn't dropped the anchor, Felix, we wouldn't have made it. We caught a lucky break after that though. We went right through the eye of the storm."

"And it took five hours?" Mia responded, incredulous.

"Yeah, it was nerve-wracking," said Isaac. "The worst part of it was that I couldn't even make it outside without being blown off the ship. I had to just wait while everyone else was in working."

"Not after we got into the eye, though," Jenna interrupted, "Actually, Felix, I wanted to tell you – Isaac is your kind of idiot."

She winked in the blond adept's direction.

"We came into the eye of the storm, and he decided to strap himself to the helm. You'll probably see the mark from where he had Garet burn his bootsoles onto the deck. And look at his hands!"

Isaac shook his head negatively at Jenna, but the rest of his friends egged him on. He pulled his hands out from beneath the table, revealing his raw, twice-reblistered hands. Mia's jaw dropped. Felix's eyes opened slightly.

**X~X~X**

Sakura sat out on the deck as she watched the stars, looking at them as she heard the waves crashing gently against the sides of the ship. Inside the ship's cabin, the rest of her teammates were asleep except for her.

"Sasuke... I wonder if you still have feelings for me..." Sakura said to herself as she heard the cabin door open and close. She could almost sense the presence emerging from cover nearby. It was less the sound, or even the faint tingle of Psynergy in the air that all Adepts faintly possessed.

"Sakura... What're you doing out here in the middle of the night?" A familiar voice asked, causing Sakura to break her thoughts.

Sakura turned around to find Felix standing in front of the cabin door, wearing a set of clean pajama bottoms while letting the cool breeze blow through his hair gently. Felix noticed a small blush on her cheeks as he walked up to her.

"I was thinking." Sakura said, turning away from him.

"About what, Sakura?" Felix asked, sitting down next to her while running his hand over the carved serpent head.

"Sasuke-kun…"

Felix stared at her with surprise. "After everything he did, you're still concerned about him?"

"Yes, because I love him so much!" Sakura finally answered, clenching her bright emerald eyes shut as she sounded on the verge of tears.

"He once tried to kill you." Felix said, showing Sakura the visible scar where the still-fresh wound on her right breast where Sasuke's left arm used to be. "How can you still love him if he almost killed you?"

"I can't stop thinking about him!" She said.

She kept her eyes glued to the floor, hanging her head down to hide her tear-stained face. Felix felt guilt tear through his body. He hadn't wanted her to cry, knowing full well that Sasuke was the cause of her tears all this time. Never, in all his years had he felt such worthlessness as he did in that moment. But to Felix, to show emotion was weakness, and thus shame upon shame.

"Sakura... look at me," he said softly, placing his thumb and forefinger on her chin to raise her face to meet his.

"No," she said, averting her eyes to stare at the open sea.

"Sakura..." he said, reaching out for her hand, which she quickly pulled back, she glanced at him, and found herself staring at the smile on his face. "I think that he loves you deep down in that cold heart of his."

"Really?" Sakura asked.

"Yes." He said, looking at her beautiful, yet tired face. "Now, get to bed. It's getting late."

**X~X~X**

Early morning light was seeping through the windows when Felix was shaken awake by a pair of tiny hands, and accompanied by a small, tinny voice.

"Nngh, what is it Echo?" Felix sat up, throwing his blankets off.

"Someone just made you something to eat, and it looks pretty good." Echo said, looking at the plate that sat out in the ship's kitchen.

As he got dressed after he and Sheba's... heated night, Felix went into the cabin and looked at the plate that was sitting on the table.

Felix was about halfway through his eggs when he eventually noticed a small picnic basket in front of Sakura's bedroom. Getting up after putting his cleared plate in the soapy water, Felix gently picked the basket up and opened the flap to find a dozen brown balls and a note that read "Soldier Pills" on it.

_'These will be useful to us in our journey.'_ Felix thought, putting the soldier pills in his pockets.

As they journeyed through Magma Rock, Isaac noticed that Felix had a couple of bumps in his pockets. Felix noticed this, and tossed one of the soldier pills to him.

"Try it." Felix said, looking at the blond.

Isaac popped the brown ball into his mouth and chewed, but after he swallowed, his face immediately turned green and spat it out in the lava.

"That stuff's awful!" he groaned, looking at Felix.

"Are they?" Felix asked, rolling the soldier pill between his thumb and his forefinger before he popped it into his mouth.

But as soon as he swallowed, Felix suddenly felt his face pale and he lurched forward, emptying the contents of his stomach immediately.

"What exactly did Sakura _PUT_ in those?!" Felix groaned as he tried to get the bile taste out of his mouth. "They taste like manure and dog crap!"

As they made their way through the lava-filled caverns, Felix made a mental note to never let Sakura cook.

**X~X~X**

Noon had rolled around as Sakura rolled over in bed and smelled someone making something of pure delicacy. Putting her clothes on, Sakura immediately headed into the kitchen to find Felix over a hot stove with an open bottle of saké beside him.

Sitting near the table that came with the ship, Sakura grabbed an apple that was finely washed before Felix cleared his throat.

"Here you go." He said, handing Sakura a plate that had a piece of fish on it.

Sakura took the plate and smelled the fish that was already cooked, the sake radiating off of the skin. As she ate, Sakura noticed that half of her soldier pills were almost gone.

Sakura immediately returned to her meal and finished off what was left as she felt tiny kisses on her cheeks. Looking to her side, Sakura giggled as she saw Whistle kissing her with his tiny mouth before the door opened and Kraden walked in.

"Better now, Lady Sakura?" Kraden asked.

"Y-Yes." Sakura tried to stand up, but the Alchemy sage motioned for her to stay seated while he stood before her like a lecturer from the academy.

"Good. I have a few questions." Kraden raised a silver eyebrow at her. "I sincerely hope you can grant me the answers that I'm looking for."

Sakura frowned. The tone of his voice... Was he challenging her? Was he really implying that she wasn't smart enough to answer his questions?

The pink-haired kunoichi started to seethe. She had never been one to control her temper. And the doddering old fool standing before her had made ahuge mistake by taking a jab at her intelligence. Just when she was ready to explode, the sage surprised her. He started laughing. Sakura froze. The way that he laughed. It was so familiar, so full of life. It was like Naruto's own laugh so much that it was just eerie.

"Aahhh...", the sage gasped after his laughter had died down. Then he grinned at Sakura with a smile. "You've got fire in you. I like that! Maybe you won't be so useless after all when we get to the Mars Lighthouse!"

A beat.

"Bad move." Felix warned.

On the floor, Sakura had transformed from an exhausted girl to a vengeful demon in a matter of seconds, for the Alchemy sage had uttered the forbidden word. He had said it out-loud. With a smile. And now he was going to experience a world of pain. She shot up off of the floor.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME, YOU OLD GEEZER!" Felix was totally unfazed. In fact, he was smirking, almost like Sasuke would at Naruto when they were both genin. He was just egging her on!

"Useless," Sakura's aura turned blood-red as she struggled to reign in her growing killing intent, "is what you are now. By the time I'm finished with you, you will be irreplaceable." Sakura's bloodlust dimmed slightly, but didn't disappear altogether. This old man! Was he trying to insult her or reassure her? She wasn't sure, so she slunk back down to the floor, glowering the whole way. She wasn't useless! Next to Tsunade-sama and Shizune, she was one of the top ninja medics in the world!

Half an hour passed innocently before everyone was awake and alert enough for Felix to address them. Felix looked around the table. Everyone looked back at him with innocent smiles and waves. He wasn't keen on disrupting the good mood that had finally settled upon the group after the recent events that had transpired, but sadly he had to.

He stood up from his seat and addressed the whole group, "Today, we set sail for the Northern Reaches. It has no mercy and if you are not prepared its harsh unforgiving weather will destroy you." He said concisely, he wanted everyone to be completely aware of the dangers that they would soon be facing, "However, weather isn't the only thing we face out there. In the Northern Reaches there are monsters far stronger than anything we have faced before. Monsters so strong even Saturos and Menardi opted to avoid them. They will come at you hard, fast and won't give up until either you or they are dead."

The group stared up at Felix, silently absorbing his words.

"As you know Gaia Falls, the edge of our world, grows and consumes more with each passing moment. We will need to make haste, the quicker we complete our quest, the more of our world we'll save. We must not allow innocent lives be destroyed by our hesitation."

They all looked at him thoughtfully, remembering the islands they had visited by the edge of Gaia Falls, the expanse of nothing that dropped down beneath them, a despairing nothingness. Darkness, emptiness and death were all that awaited those unlucky few who would never return from their fall from it. Each of them at that moment, Felix knew, silently swore not to let it consume any more of the world.

"Past the Northern Reaches is the edge of Weyard. It is on this edge that Mars Lighthouse sleeps. Within its cold walls, will be traps, challenges and dangers, determined to keep us from lighting its warming Beacon. But we must stay strong and stay together, if we don't we will fail." He paused considering his next words carefully, "I assume that when we are so close affection will form for some of us." His eyes quickly glanced over Mia with perhaps more obviousness than he had intended.

"But, in battle, these feelings must be left behind. You will all fight as we have done so far." These were the words he had not wanted to so much as utter, he had hoped that each of them would be strong enough to do the right thing, but he couldn't take that risk with them, let alone himself, "If anyone abandons the fight to try and save one of us out of feelings of love, you might just doom the rest of us. That goes for everyone." He looked around and saw them looking up at him, worried, "I know this will be hard to do, but if one of us must die to save Weyard, you must all be willing to make the sacrifice. If we are injured and you make the wrong choice over who to save out of feelings of love, you could well destroy our hopes of saving the world."

He paused and looked down sadly. He then looked around the table his sadness masked by defiance, "Have I made myself clear?" He said loudly, his strong tone spurring on the others.

"Yes, Felix!" The table resounded proudly.

Kraden began to clap slightly and the rest of the table followed suit. Felix smiled and sat back down. Mia smiled a little to him from across the table.

"Alright, everyone order some food, eat up, and get ready. We leave as soon as everyone is packed. Carriages are waiting to bring us, and the townspeople, to the ship."

They all placed their orders with a waitress that came around and ate heartily. This feeling of unity and friendship that was so strong in their group made Felix incredibly proud and happy. The close bonds each of them had forged with each other in the face of danger and death, he wasn't sure if anything could truly bring people closer than impending doom. Their determination to save each other, to help each other and, in general, to simply cheer each other up, was incredible. For once, Felix was glad that he was staring death in the eyes day after day.

**X~X~X**

Sakura was no slouch. True, she couldn't keep up with her eight teammates in terms of raw power, but she was far from helpless.

She pushed herself off of the ground and looked towards where Isaac and Felix were training. Isaac's eyes locked with his dark-eyed companion, who refused to twitch to break his iron-locked stance, and gestured with his sword to get a move on. The younger fighter shifted the tense grip on his dull sword and edged around to the side of his sparring partner, who made no move other than to turn his head slowly to keep his form within sight, all emotion wiped from his shadowed face.

There was a definite trained discipline in the way that Felix fought, focused on absolutely nothing but the act of battle, and blocking out all external thoughts from his subconscious. The fighter was normally quite calm, this was true, but even the small friendship and soft words spoken seemed like a memory now with that coldly blank stare on his face. And suddenly, his stock-still body sprung into action as the older fighter brought his longer blade around in a fierce arc, blocking the rushing strike launched by Isaac's running attack; the younger frowned slightly and spun free, detaching himself and breaking away. There was only the slightest breath of a pause before Isaac sprung at his foe once more, swinging his weapon rapidly.

It quickly became clear to the gathered audience that the two warriors' styles of fighting had little to nothing in common, with the slight exception of their shared preference for swords, and judging who was stronger was nigh impossible.

When observing Felix in combat, the initial word that came to mind was 'mountain.' His stance was stubborn and unyielding, never once stepping back an inch as rapid blows were rained upon his effortless parries. He wasted no energy, using no more than one or two movements to accomplish his guards and strikes, the very epitome of efficiency. At the same time though, he displayed a slight annoyance at the people swarmed to watch their battle, his lip curled ever so slightly in a tiny snarl.

Isaac on the other hand, was better compared to a 'vine.' The blonde-haired fighter was smaller, and moved slightly faster than his opponent, dodging and striking around the other's barriers while easily flashing away. He had a flexibility that allowed him to avoid Felix's strokes with more finesse than most trained soldiers twice his age. His face went through a variety of emotions as he whirled and cut, capturing the essence of a fencer when compared to a heavy-handed knight.

So engrossed was he in the raging conflict that Isaac was almost completely unaware of his partner's growing distraction until his blade slipped under the normally impassable shield and nicked Felix along the arm, causing the long-haired one to back away for once in confusion. And the young man glanced with an empty stare at the blood on his arm as if not realizing for a moment where it had sprung from, still dazed until he heard the encouraging sounds from their audience…directed towards Isaac. Sudden as the shattering of glass, the blank pallor fell from Felix's face and was replaced with a wave of anger and sorrow. The blonde swordsman extended a hand warily, as if to attempt to comfort his friend at the sound of the townspeople cheering at the apparent victory his cut had achieved, but before a single word of placation left his lips, the dark warrior lunged forward.

Gone was the calm, blank stoicism that had held him in his single position during their brawl. Gone was his unwillingness to pursue and chase after his dodging form. The mountain had become a landslide.

Rage boiled from the young man's features, focused on something in the distance, and Isaac knew instinctively that this fight was merely a convenient way for his ally to vent and still his temper. And yet, the blonde found himself stumbling backwards under the furiously pounding attacks distributed in rapid succession from the long sword, back stepping swiftly to try to catch a breather from Felix's untamed fury. Isaac realized now that his friend was faster than he gave him credit for previously, losing ground again and again as he was driven back under those blows, the other's height granting him additional strength. The hero instinctively knew that he could turn this fight around and even out his attacks to match Felix, but he was too unnerved to even think twice about it, and flinched suddenly as the touch of cold iron against his glove startled him enough for his sword to be knocked out of his hands. An instant later, the dark warrior's blade was pointed at his throat, both of them now breathing heavily and just noticing how much effort the spar had taken.

Sakura stood up and was about to congratulate the two when she saw a large sea dragon slam itself onboard the deck of the ship right next to Felix, who was about to call the others before Sakura stopped him.

"I'll take care of him for us." She said.

Sakura compressed wind chakra around her left palm. Wind, so wild and free, yet furious when contained. An element not to be trifled with, yet she wondered how Sheba and Ivan were able to use an element with their minds. She let the power build up, allowing her body to siphon the chakra on instinct. Then, she released it. That was all. A build-up of chakra, then just a release in the right direction. The results were spectacular as the sea dragon was ripped to shreds.

"Let's keep going!" Sakura exclaimed, walking past a shocked Felix.

**X~X~X**

Felix drew his blade from the ragged flesh of the beast he'd slain; the blood splattered the floor in a wicked arc as the creature fell to meet it's end. Isaac pushed him aside and countered the smaller beast. which had lunged at Felix to avenge its fallen comrade. It reaped its claws across Isaac's chest-plate, forcing him to retreat, and continued its charge toward Felix. He readied the Sol Blade, and Sheba cast her Psynergy to sharpen its edge as the creature closed in for a desperate attack, rearing on its hind legs and blasting a wave of fire from its mouth. Felix rolled to the side, and closed in for the kill, driving the wide tip of the sword into the Dragon's heart.

He plunged the sword in as deep as he could while the creature clawed at his arms, ripping the flesh and spilling his own blood as well, until its strength gave way to his, and its movement ceased for good. He withdrew his sword and let the thing fall, and prepared to finish it off, placing his blade against it's still-breathing throat...

"Felix, wait! Something's happening to the other one!" Cried Sheba, pointing to where the larger Dragon had fallen. Except the Dragon was no longer there - a man lay on his side, covered in blood; a man he thought he'd recognized...

He stepped back from the creature laying beneath him, and held his sword loose in his hands. He watched as its limp body glowed white hot and shrunk, until he could make out another familiar shape, one he feared he may never see again.

His sword slipped from his bloody hands, crashing into the floor in a flurry of sparks. He opened his mouth but couldn't find any air to form his words, or call her name. He simply stared at Karst's dying body, as if the whole world outside had ceased to exist.

She didn't seem to see him at first, or know he was there... She looked first to her partner, and then to her wounds...

"Why... Why am I lying here?" Said Agatio. "Wait, I think I remember... We were going to light the Beacon..."

"But the lighthouse was frozen. We wandered lost inside, trying to find the Aerie..." Said Karst to her partner. "We must hurry... If we delay, Prox is destroyed."

"It's no use... I'm absolutely drained... I can't even stand." He said to her.

Karst held her wounds and tried to look around, but had no strength as well. "And the cold... Why am I so cold? We of the Fire Clan are meant to be immune to the cold..."

"I feel the cold too, Karst..." Agatio said. "I... I'm afraid we're going to die up here..."

She closed her eyes, still unaware who was there with her, or whose sword has pierced her chest... "I can feel it now... The long, dark sleep creeping into my soul..."

"Wait, I think I remember..." Agatio said. "The eye... It told us that we lack the will to go any farther."

"The eye... I remember now... I felt its gaze pierce me to the core, then it all went black..."

"That's right... And I remember fighting against Felix..."

Felix's insides cringed with guilt. He almost wanted to run away, so they would never know it was him who had sent them to their deaths...

"I do, too... Was it a dream? An illusion?"

Neither of them looked his way, but he could feel they knew he was there...

"Felix, is that you?"

"...Yes."

"Amazing... Then our luck hasn't entirely run out yet..." Agatio said, and smiled. "Felix, you must complete our quest... Please... You have to light the Beacon..."

"No..." Felix said. "You'll both be alright. You can light the Beacon yourselves, just let us heal you, please."

Karst looked over to him and smiled, reaching her hand across the bloody floor... "We can't even stand... We're in no condition to go on. Light the Beacon for us... Please."

"You'll need the Mars Star. Go on... Take it."

"Please hurry... If I can just see the light of the Beacon, I'll know that I haven't died in vain."

Felix stared in disbelief. "No! You're not going to die at all! I can still do something... I can heal you!"

Agatio shook his head. "We're counting on you."

"I wont let you just die here, I promise. There's got to be something I can do."

"It's too late for us now... Hurry, light the Beacon."

Agatio held out the Star to him, and he took it and stowed it in the Mythril bag. "I swear, I'll light the Beacon for you, but I'm coming back to save you!"

"Don't be a fool, Felix." He said. Felix shook his head and turned to Karst, taking her outstretched hand.

"I wont let you die, Karst. I can't!"

"Felix..."

"Your hands... So warm..."

"People have such warm hands... I had forgotten..."

He took her into his arms, freeing her body from the pool of frozen blood that had collected beneath her while she spoke. She felt so cold...

"Don't die, Karst! Please..."

"It's alright, Felix.." She whispered to him. Her breath was so weak now, it felt as though all the air was escaping her lips each time she opened her mouth. "It's okay... I can see my sister again... She'd be so happy..."

"No, she wouldn't, Karst... She wouldn't want you to die, and neither do I."

"She'd be so proud of you, too... The hero of Prox..." She kept smiling; it drove him crazy every minute she looked at him that way... Like she always used to do, so long ago...

"This isn't the end, Karst.. I'll do anything to save you! Just don't give up... Please!"

She stared at him, her burning red eyes that were so beautiful before were now so dull... Like the few embers that remained after a flame had disappeared.

"It's too late, Felix.. Don't say those things. Please. It will only make it more difficult to go... Don't say... Anything.."

He clutched her hand, determined to restore the warmth she'd once held. The warmth that he'd fallen for, and fought for, and would have died for, if only he could've taken her place. She'd always been there in the cold, as comfort and shelter, but now there was no way to give back what she'd given him.

"Karst.. I- I love you.. Don't leave me now..."

"..."

She didn't answer.

The last few embers had already gone out, before his confession could even leave his lips. Her last few frozen tears glistened on her cheek, and her cold hands were limp in his. Everything had happened so quickly, it didn't seem real to him at the time.

As he lay her body down and stared at the blood on his hands, he took his blade from the floor and turned away. It was heavy, almost too heavy to lift. He hid his tears from the others as he left the room without a word, nor a glance back at the two whom he'd lost. Whom he'd killed. His friends looked at him with concern and confusion, Jenna and Sheba hung their heads and averted their gaze. But he couldn't care less what they thought. For once in his life, his friends meant nothing to him. There was only blood. Blood that would never wash away.

Turning away and letting Felix mourn the loss of his former love due to the tears falling from his brown eyes and realizing that Karst, the woman he loved, was actually dead, Sakura was surprised and shocked to see the third dragon, that suddenly attacked her while the other two attacked Felix, transform back into a vaguely familiar black haired young man that was lying in his blood next to Agatio's lifeless body...

**"SASUKE-KUN!"**

Sasuke was barely alive by the time Mia and Sakura got to him. A river of blood leaked from his new stump of an arm that Garet had made during the heated battle, pooling on the frozen floor of the frozen Mars Lighthouse.

Felix worriedly looked back at Sakura to find that her bright emerald eyes were shining with tears as he took the Mars Star out of its bag, slid it into the mouth of the dragon statue, and heated the entire Lighthouse up.

Then, Felix's eyes grew dark as he noticed Sasuke's bleeding form as well as his completely-severed left arm that was chopped off at the elbow.

"Is he alright?!" Felix asked as he got to Sasuke, instantly checking the young Uchiha's pulse as he tried not to get his brown pants immensely stained with the heavy blood that continued to leak from the stump.

"I don't know. He's losing a lot of blood." Sakura said, shaking her head.

"He's barely alive though." Felix said, opening one of his pockets.

As Sakura's eyes were still locked onto Sasuke's bleeding form, Felix quickly wrapped the left stump in bandages that he had inside his many pockets to hopefully reduce the heavy bleeding.

But the bandages were slowly starting to become completely soaked in dark-red blood as well, forcing Felix to quickly rip them off and consider the situation.

"Damn it all..." Felix muttered.

"Can you do something?" Sakura asked, looking at him.

"I'll make this quick. Don't worry, Sakura." Felix said, trying to ease her.

Kneeling beside a worried Sakura while keeping his chocolate-brown eyes locked onto Sasuke's continuously-bleeding left stump, Felix rapidly gathered his Psynergy and pressed his palm against the bloodied stump. Closing his eyes in concentration, Felix murmured "Cure," and watched as his Psynergy flowed down his arm and into the bloody stump, slowly sealing it while Sakura watched him intensively.

"Is he going to be alright?" Sakura asked, looking at Felix.

Felix shook his head.

"I don't know for sure, Sakura. He's stable, but... we should probably get Sasuke back to Prox so that he can properly continue healing." Felix said, not taking his eyes off of Sasuke.

Wrapping his cape around the Uchiha's shoulders, Felix gently picked Sasuke up from the river of now-caked blood that now subsided, almost letting out a small gasp at how little the Uchiha teen weighed.

Sakura wiped her eyes.

"Why?" Sakura asked, bright emerald eyes looking up at the man.

Felix closed his eyes and sighed.

"Sasuke needs medical attention, Sakura." Felix said, looking down at the severely-injured Uchiha in his arms. "More medical attention than a simple cure spell will fix."

"Alright." she replied just as quietly.

Gently putting Sasuke into Piers' arms, Felix cast a quick Retreat, and the party went back to Prox.


End file.
